


Give me 3 months, and I will capture your heart.

by lumassen



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Deaf Character, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:14:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 61,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24884386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumassen/pseuds/lumassen
Summary: Matthias is a livaboard on his canal boat,The Sandpiperand is content with staying in the small village on the canal where his boat is moored. One morning, he wakes up to find that a new boat has moored next to him,Skidbladnir. The boat is just as beautiful as it's owner, Lukas, a traveller who doesn't like to stay in the same spot for too long. Lukas is only planning to stay moored for 3 months and no more, but as Matthias ends up falling for his new neighbour he's hoping to change that.
Relationships: Denmark/Norway (Hetalia), Finland/Sweden (Hetalia)
Comments: 191
Kudos: 97





	1. Chapter One - Mytholm

**Chapter One – Mytholm**

“Well, I'll be off then!" Matthias called as he slid his backpack over his shoulders and reached for the door handle.

"Have a lovely evening, my dear. See you tomorrow." Maggie, the elderly postal clerk that Matthias worked with at the village post office, said from where she was sat hunched over her desk thumbing through some Euro's she'd just exchanged for a customer.

It was the middle of May and had just gone 4pm, and the warm, slowly sinking sun cast long shadows across the village high street. Matthias gently closed the door to the post office behind him as he stepped out, then took his sunglasses out of his shirt pocket and slid them onto his face.

Although there was hardly any traffic in the tiny village of Mytholmroyd, Matthias still walked to the zebra crossing and crossed the road, slipping down the alley at the side of the Dusty Miller Pub that brought him out onto the towpath by the canal. The gravel crunched beneath his shoes as he walked along, and he nodded a hello to a couple walking a dog as they passed him. Matthias had moved to Mytholm 7 years ago on his narrowboat, _The Sandpiper_ , where he lived on a residential mooring on the canal. He bought _The Sandpiper_ from a dockmaster when he was 21 and spent a year or so fixing her up instead of going off to University like all of his friends. There wasn’t anything in particular that he wanted to study, and the £8000 he paid for the narrowboat seemed like a bargain compared to the tens of thousands of pounds worth of debt that his friends were now in with their student loans – not that he was against them getting out there and getting a degree, he’d just always been a bit more of a spontaneous adventure seeker who enjoyed his freedom and independence, and simply couldn’t see himself taking well to student life.

There were only 3 permanent residential moorings in Mytholm as well as 2 visitor moorings. Matthias held one of the residential spots, his neighbour Manon and her boat _Willow_ held the second mooring, and the third had been empty for about 2 months or so after Gilbert and his boat _Gilbird_ had moved on. Matthias was sad to see Gilbert go. They had been neighbours for 4 years or so and had become good friends in that time, but he’d ended up meeting a girl who worked in Manchester and had moved to the moorings in the city at Pennington Wharf Marina after he started dating her. Matthias had visited him a couple of times, and they kept in contact over text message. The city Marina was impressive, but Matthias was always glad to come back home to his quiet and quaint stretch of the Rochdale Canal.

The long blades of grass at the edge of the tow path tickled Matthias bare legs as he reached _The Sandpiper_. Matthias was the village postman, and was thankful that he could wear shorts in the summer as part of his uniform. He couldn’t help but smile a little as he leapt down the short drop from the edge of the bank onto the fore deck of _The Sandpiper_ and unlocked the doors, ducking inside and tapping his hand twice on the top of the doorframe as he did so. The dark green paintwork had worn away in that same spot above the door from Matthias tapping his hand there every day, his little way of saying hello to his beloved boat when he came home after a day’s work. The narrowboat was a 2/4 berther, just big enough for two people, with a decent sized galley, living area, bathroom and double bedroom in that order, stretched out along the 50 feet from front to back. Matthias hadn’t changed much of her original paintwork, and instead had just gone over what was already there with a fresh coat when he was fixing her up. Her green paint was complimented by traditional white and red patterning, and the name _The Sandpiper_ was painted on the side in old fashioned red swirly lettering.

The inside however was much less traditional, and Matthias had started to run out of his budget when it came to furnishings. The majority of his furniture was from IKEA and it felt oddly modern inside such a traditional looking narrowboat, but Matthias liked it and hadn’t bothered to change it even now that he could probably afford to. He tossed his backpack down onto the floor by the door, then went over to the little fridge that was built into the worktops to save space in the small boat and grabbed a beer, cracking it open before he flopped down onto the couch, kicking his shoes off and putting his feet up on the coffee table. He sat for a moment and took a couple of long sips of Carlsberg as he cast his gaze out of the little window in front of him, enjoying the peace and the feeling of the boat rocking gently on the water.

Matthias had been in the same job as postman ever since he moved to Mytholm. Living on a narrowboat was fairly simple and not too dissimilar from living in a little apartment; the only thing that was different is that you didn’t really have an address. Luckily, for residential moorings, there was the option to have mail delivered to a PO box at the local post office, and Matthias had seen the job advertisement in the window when he’d popped in to set up his mail redirectory. 7 years had passed in the blink of an eye, but Matthias hadn’t regretted a single day. He enjoyed his simple and low paced life.

Placing a hand behind his head, Matthias shuffled a little on the couch so he was almost lying down and got comfy, content with his plan to not move for the rest of the evening unless it was to grab another beer from the fridge.

*

The next morning brought the start of the weekend, and Matthias roused from his sleep at the sound of a family chatting loudly as they walked past _The Sandpiper_ on the tow path outside and yawned heavily as he threw the covers off and swung his legs out of bed, bare feet hitting the wooden floor of his bedroom. The narrowboat was roomier than people first thought, and Matthias had just enough headroom at 6’1” to stand up and stretch in a morning with his arms just above his head. Sunlight was streaming in through a crack in the curtains, and Matthias squinted for a moment in the bright light as he drew them.

Stifling another yawn he padded out of bedroom and over to the galley kitchen, rubbing a hand sleepily through his mess of ginger hair as he set the coffee machine brewing before bending down and taking the glass bottle of milk from the fridge door. Before he put it down he caught sight of a thin layer of skin beginning to form on the surface of the half empty bottle of milk and he brought it to his nose, retching at the smell.

 _“God, Matthias, why’d ya let the milk go off, huh?”_ he grumbled to himself as he poured the milk down the sink and put the empty bottle on the side to wash out and recycle later. For a moment he lingered in the kitchen, staring at the coffee machine debating whether or not to just have a black coffee, but he didn’t have any plans or errands this morning so a quick trip to the mini mart would be worth it if it meant he could sit and enjoy a cappuccino.

Not bothering to change out of his grey pyjama bottoms for just a short walk to the shop and back in a village where everyone knew him and wouldn’t bat an eyelid at the sight, Matthias pulled on a navy blue sweater and slid his feet into a pair of flip flops by the front door. Picking up his keys and wallet from the glass dish he kept them in on the kitchen side, he unlocked the door and stepped out onto the fore deck, tapping _The Sandpiper_ twice above the door frame before he hopped up onto the towpath. Once on the path, his eyes fell upon the third mooring spot and a small breath caught in his throat as he admired the narrowboat that had now filled the empty pitch. He felt a little giddy to see the empty spot finally occupied and he rubbed his hands together excitedly. Whoever it was must have either arrived late last night or early this morning, and Matthias was surprised that he hadn’t heard the hum of the diesel engine or the rotation of water as the boat moored up.

It was easily a 4 berther and probably 60 feet in length, a little bigger than _The Sandpiper_ , and it was beautiful. Its paintwork was a glossy black, with maroon and gold patterning and an impressive design of what looked like Norse runes running across it. Walking a little closer, Matthias peered at the name written on the side in the same gold paint.

 _Skidbladnir_.

He’d never seen a boat like it in the 7 years he’d been on the water. Thrilled at the fact he had a new neighbour, Matthias approached _Skidbladnir_ and, still standing on the tow path, leant across to the doors and knocked loud enough to be heard, but not too loud to startle whoever was inside. He waited for a minute or so, but no one came out.

Although a little disappointed that no one had come out to greet him, Matthias didn’t want to be annoying and knock again and he stood up properly and started to walk along the tow path towards the high street. He shoved his hands in his pockets as a grin broke out across his face. Whoever they were, out on the canal a neighbour was a neighbour, and the third mooring had been empty for way too long in Matthias's eyes. _Skidbladnir_ was a welcome sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I nearly bought a narrowboat a couple of years ago called The Onion, and I've always loved the idea of being a livaboard. The idea for this fic has be floating round in my head for a while, and I'm finally starting it. I hope you like it! :)
> 
> Mytholmroyd is a real village just outside a place called Hebden Bridge near where I live, so I've used a few real places and stuff. It's about time I wrote a proper DenNor centered fic, so here we go!


	2. Chapter Two - Mr Thomassen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Manon = Belguim  
> Alice = Nyo England  
> Dylan = Wales

**Chapter Two – Mr Thomassen**

It had been three days since _Skidbladnir_ had moored up, and Matthias had still yet to meet his new neighbour. He hadn’t knocked again since the first morning, although he had left two bottles of cider in front of the doors on the fore deck as a little welcome offering on the morning of the second day. Once he’d come back from work that evening they had gone, and Matthias stopped to chat with Manon as she was watering the flower boxes that decorated the roof of _Willow_. Manon had only been living on the water for a year or so. Originally from Belgium however, she’d spent her fair share of summers by the canals with her brother Abel, and so she had taken to live as a livaboard like a duck to the water.

Manon was just as curious as Matthias about their new neighbour. She told Matthias how she heard faint music coming from inside _Skidbladnir_ earlier that afternoon and could have sworn she saw a fluffy white cat peering out from behind one of the net curtains a she walked past on the tow path. The pair of them also wondered about the unusual name of the narrowboat, and had tried googling it but to no avail.

By the third day, the residents of Mytholm that knew Matthias lived aboard _The Sandpiper_ had started to ask him about the new arrival while he was on his Monday round. In such a small village, news travels fast, and it was one of the things that Matthias loved about Mytholm. There was a real sense of community. Last year for example, several residents hung balloons on their front doors or put banners in their window to wish Matthias happy birthday while he was on his delivery rounds. A couple of them even came out to greet him and give him a birthday card or a pack of beer as he handed them their post. To some people it might be a little off putting, the fact that everyone knew each other’s business, but Matthias with his naturally friendly and curious nature found great comfort in it.

He’d just finished his round and wiped a thin layer of sweat that was forming on his brow on the back of his forearm before slinging his now empty post bag into the back of his van. By the time he’d driven back to the post office the delivery truck was just leaving after dropping off tomorrow’s post. Matthias parked up round the back of the post office and let himself in through the back door, happily greeting Alice and Dylan as they were sorting through the mail delivery ready for him tomorrow morning, letters and parcels piled high in the rather cramped and old fashioned mail room.

“Hey Mags, did you have a nice weekend?” Matthias said as he walked through to the front of the post office and squeezed Maggie’s shoulder affectionately as she turned to greet him. Maggie was a sweet lady in her late 60’s and the entire village was sure that she’d never retire. After 7 years of working together, she and Matthias had become close, and some people even mistook them as grandmother and grandson. 

“I did, dear, thank you. Harold and I caught the train to Halifax on Sunday to do a bit of shopping and have a bite to eat.” Maggie said, and Matthias smiled at the thought of Mags and her husband of 40 years spending a nice Sunday together.

He was just hanging his post bag in his locker when Dylan poked his head around the doorway from the mailroom and held out two letters.

“Delivery for the boating community just in from the depot!” he announced, and Matthias took the letters from him.

“Thanks, bud!”

Although Manon used the PO box for her mail, Matthias always delivered it to her in person at the end of his shift, as it only made sense when he collected his own mail too. And he was the postman after all. Matthias wasn’t expecting any mail for himself and so he only quickly glanced at the addressees of the letters assuming that they were both for Manon, but as his eye caught an unfamiliar name on the second letter a huge grin broke out across his face. 

_Mr Lukas Thomassen,  
Skidbladnir,  
Burnley Road Post Office,  
Mytholmroyd,  
HX7 5LF_

“Lukas Thomassen.” He muttered the name as he read it. Clutching the letter in his hand, Matthias looked up at Maggie.

“Mags, ya didn’t tell me that the new livaboard had been in to register their mail redirectory! When did they come in? What are they like?” he said, leaning against the counter beside his colleague as she wrote out some invoices.

“Oh, it must have been early this morning.” She mused, setting her pen down and turning to face Matthias. “You’d already come and gone again on your round. I hadn’t long since opened the shutters actually when he knocked on the door. Quiet little thing, he is. Said he was expecting an urgent letter and needed to set up his redirectory right away. Haven’t you said hello to him yet? That’s not like you, Matthias!” she finished, teasingly. It was a known thing in the village that Matthias liked to chat and would always find the time for you.

“I tried, Mags! I even left booze! We must just keep missing each other, I guess.” Matthias said as he pushed himself up from leaning on the counter. Pleased with a valid reason to try once more to greet his new neighbour, Matthias said his goodbyes and clocked out for the afternoon. He walked along the towpath with a spring in his step, always happy to see the moorings as he neared. 

Now that _Skidbladnir_ had filled the empty space the three narrowboats looked well together. In the direction Matthias was walking in with the village high street behind him, Manon and _Willow_ were the first to greet him, then Matthias and _The Sandpiper_ in the middle, and the welcome addition of Lukas and _Skidbladnir_ at the far end. The two guest mooring spots were in front of Manon, and currently vacant. But as soon as the summer holidays kicked in around the end of June however, they would be guest boats moored there all the way through until September.

As he got closer, Matthias noticed fine plumes of smoke coming from _Skidbladnir’s_ chimney, and the faint smell of a wood burner filled the air, glad from the obvious sign that someone was home. Compared to _The Sandpiper_ , _Skidbladnir_ was quite an old fashioned and traditional narrowboat and Matthias was slightly jealous that it had a wood burner as opposed to his gas system.

Back at the post office, Mags had said that Lukas had set up his mail redirectory as quickly as he did because he was expecting an urgent letter, and Matthias suspected that was probably what he was holding in his hand. He felt weirdly proud to be delivering it as he stepped down from the towpath this time rather than lean down and stood on the fore deck, rapping on the door sharply three times before standing back a pace. He heard movement inside and braced himself for the doors to open, but after a minute or so of standing there, once again, no one came out. A little unfulfilled, Matthias leapt back up onto the tow path and went over to _Willow_ and did the same thing, knocking three times. Within seconds Manon had opened the door and greeted Matthias with a warm smile.

“Ah! The evening post!” she said as she came out to stand on the deck with Matthias, and her smile faded when she saw Matthias’s frown.

“You look like a kicked puppy. What’s wrong?”

Matthias sighed as he handed Manon’s post to her,

“Have you met the new livaboard yet?” he asked, slightly irritated with himself at how obsessed he sounded.

“No, not yet. Why?” she said, placing one hand on her hip.

He sighed again, “No reason, I’m just too nosey for my own good probably.”

“You’d better not be planning on getting a new favourite neighbour. Now that Gilbert’s gone I thought I’d get a running until _Skidbladnir_ showed up.” Manon laughed a little and Matthias grinned sheepishly at her. 

“You’ve always been my favourite neighbour, Manon.” He said with a wink, “Anyway, I’d better go. I wanna catch the store before it closes.” He finished as he stepped across the wooden plank that Manon used to step to and from the tow path, waving to her as he set off back to the village.

\------

The sun was low in the sky and casting a warm glow across the river by the time Matthias was on his way back from the store. He had two large bags of groceries in each hand and still had Lukas’s letter in the back pocket of his shorts. He whistled to himself as he walked, but then stopped in his tracks and squinted a little in the low light as he spotted a figure sat on top of _Skidbladnir_. Unable to stop a grin from breaking across his face, Matthias quickened his pace a little then slowed again as he got closer to the moorings. 

There, sat cross legged on the roof of his boat facing out toward the river, was Lukas. He hadn’t noticed or heard Matthias approaching, and Matthias just stood and watched him for a moment. He had his head bowed over a sketchpad so that his curly blonde hair was falling across his face, his pencil moving across the page. In the warm sunlight Lukas looked the picture of tranquillity, and Matthias couldn’t help but think about what a nice photo it would make of him sat atop _Skidbladnir_ like that. There was an aura of calm about Lukas as if he were made for a quaint life on the river.

Setting the grocery bags down on the tow path, Matthias took the letter from his back pocket and cleared his throat, hoping to gently draw attention to himself. But Lukas didn’t even stop drawing or look up. He coughed again, and still, nothing. Growing frustrated now Matthias exhaled sharply and walked around to the edge of the towpath and stood close to Lukas’s boat. Holding the letter in his hand, he waved it around a little.

“Hello? Excuse me?” Matthias called out, and finally Lukas’s head snapped up from his sketchpad and he looked genuinely surprised as he turned and his eyes fell upon Matthias. Matthias watched as Lukas pushed his hair from his face and brought his hand up to his ear and fiddled around as if adjusting something for a moment or two. A faint sort of whistle of interference or feedback could be heard for a split second, and when Lukas dropped his hand to his lap Matthias realised why Lukas probably hadn’t come to answer the door. He had a hearing aid.

“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. Did you say something?” Lukas said, and Matthias felt his cheeks start to heat. Lukas’s voice was soft and his speech was a little slow. He shyly fiddled with his hair a little so that his hearing aids were now hidden from sight and Matthias couldn’t help but get the feeling he wasn’t supposed to have seen them. 

“I, uh, I just said hello. I’m Matthias, your neighbour.” He said, nodding in the direction of _The Sandpiper_. He still had his arm stretched out awkwardly, the letter firmly in his grasp. “I’m also the postman here, and so I thought I’d deliver this to you.” Matthias waved the letter gingerly at Lukas with a smile, and Lukas leaned over and took it from him.

“Oh, thank you. That’s kind.” Lukas said, a small crooked smile of his own gracing his lips for a moment, “I’m Lukas, but I guess you already know that.” He motioned to the letter before he set it down beside him on the roof. 

There was a slightly awkward silence, and Matthias could faintly hear the high pitched whistling of the static coming from Lukas’s hearing aids.

“So was it you who left the cider?” Lukas broke the silence, and Matthias fiddled with his shirt collar suddenly feeling a little embarrassed about that.

“Yeah, that was me. Sorry if it was weird.” He laughed a little in spite of himself, and Lukas just nodded, slowly returning his attention back to his sketchpad. 

“It’s not weird. They’re in the fridge. I’ll let you know how they taste.” Lukas said, though didn't take his attention away from his drawing.

As much as Matthias wanted to stay and talk, it was clear that Lukas wasn’t really in the mood for a full on conversation as he cast his eyes back to the pages in his lap. Taking that as his que, he walked over to his grocery bags and picked them up, looking over his shoulder before he hopped down onto _The Sandpiper_.

“Well, welcome to Mytholm, Lukas and Skidbladnir! See ya round!” he called, thrilled to have finally met his new neighbour and Lukas glanced up for a moment again.

“Thank you, Matthias and The Sandpiper.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVE WRITING AS MATTHIAS
> 
> Thanks for all the love already on this little fic! It's mainly just gonna be soft fluff and boat bois. 
> 
> I hope you like it! x


	3. Chapter Three - May 17th

**Chapter Three – May 17th**

Another week had gone by and the weather seemed to be getting warmer with each day that passed. Matthias had only seen Lukas twice since their first meeting, once sat in the same place on the roof of _Skidbladnir_ and once sat on the towpath with his legs dangling over the bank and bare feet in the water as he read a book. They hadn’t spoken again though, and Matthias found that he was thinking of excuses or reasons to talk to Lukas whenever he passed the narrowboat on his way to or from work but never got as far as actually saying anything when he saw him. There was something about Lukas that intrigued Matthias, and he was dying to sit down with him and find out all about him.

Matthias wasn’t nosey, per say, just interested. He loved finding out what made people tick, what their interests were, whether they thought aliens existed or not, _anything_ , and right now the only person in Mytholm that Matthias didn’t know anything about was his own neighbour.

It was Sunday morning, and Matthias had just finished getting dressed after his shower when he heard the unmistakable sound of a narrowboat coming to life, the diesel engine chugging and reverberating lowly outside. Quickly crossing the room, Matthias pulled back the nets that covered the window in his bedroom and looked out. Although his bedroom was at the end of the _The Sandpiper_ if you came in through the door in terms of layout, it was actually the front of the boat. His bedroom window looked out to the back of _Skidbladnir_ as it was moored only a metre or so away, and Matthias saw that Lukas was out on the deck, one hand on the tiller arm as he looked down into the water and testing its movements. 

Seizing the opportunity, Matthias hastily fumbled to finish doing up the buttons on his linen shirt, cringing a little as the fabric clung to the back of his neck still wet from the shower before he crossed through the boat and slid his flip flops on by the door. He ducked his head as he stepped out onto the deck and then peered down the length of _The Sandpiper_ as he closed the doors behind him. Lukas had stepped across onto the towpath now and was leant over untying the thick rope that moored _Skidbladnir_ to the iron post on the bank.

“Mornin’, where you off to?” Matthias said casually as he approached Lukas. Lukas only looked up through his hair for a moment and acknowledged him with a small nod before casting his attention back to untying the rope. 

Matthias stood there awkwardly and watched Lukas until he’d finished, the boat engine chugging behind them the only sound that could be heard. Then, he sighed and straightened up and turned his back on Matthias for a moment, stepping onto _Skidbladnir_ and turning the key on the control box so that the engine shut off and the canal bank suddenly fell into silence save for a few ducks quacking as they swam past. Matthias hadn’t seen Lukas doing anything but sitting peacefully yet, and he noticed now that he was a little taller than he’d imagined now that he was stood before him as he walked back over.

“Sorry, the engine was too loud, I didn’t hear what you said.” Lukas said a little exasperatedly, and Matthias mentally face palmed at the fact he hadn’t said anything of remote importance and had disturbed Lukas just for the sake of him wanting an excuse to talk to him.

He scratched at the back of his neck awkwardly and grinned sheepishly, “Oh, I just said good morning and asked where you were off to.” He said, then dropped his arm so it hung by his side. Lukas narrowed his eyes for a moment as they ran over Matthias, and Matthias could see him trying to suss him out before his expression relaxed.

“I was just going to take a trip up the canal. I haven’t cruised this cut yet, and it’s a nice morning.” Lukas said as he brushed a flyaway hair from his face, “Is there anywhere you’d recommend to moor up?”

For Matthias, this conversation was getting worse as he bashfully looked down at his feet for a moment pushing a piece of loose gravel around with the underside of his flip-flop.

“Well, the funny thing is, I’ve actually never been out on _The Sandpiper_. She was moored here when I bought her 7 years ago and I’ve been here ever since. I don’t even know if her engine would start if I were to even buy some diesel.” He finished with an awkward laugh and looked up at Lukas who had an expression of total disbelief across his face. 

Matthias was expecting him to start mocking him like most other livaboards had done when they found out that he had never actually cruised before and that _The Sandpiper_ was essentially just a glorified 6 x 60 ft studio apartment on the river. But instead of mocking him, Lukas just nodded towards Matthias’s boat.

“I could take a look at her engine if you want, sometime. I can give you enough diesel to get her started too.” Lukas said, and Matthias beamed at the kind gesture.

“Wow, I mean, sure, that would be great!”

There was a pause and Matthias’s eyes flickered over _Skidbladnir_ behind Lukas for a moment, its glossy paintwork catching the morning light and he seized the opportunity to ask about it.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you actually if there’s a story behind the interesting name of your boat?” he said.

Lukas’s expression softened considerably and his little crooked smile appeared on his lips for a fleeting moment, and Matthias couldn’t help but smile back at the sight of it.

“Skíðblaðnir,” Lukas said, the word rolling off his tongue and to Matthias it sounded as though Lukas had just spoken a mythical language, “is a ship from Norse mythology. Said to be the best of all ships, it could fit all of the God’s inside at once. I named my boat after it. It was Freyr’s ship, if you’re familiar with Norse mythology you might have heard of them…” he trailed off. 

Matthias was endeared by the fact that Lukas had named his narrowboat after a mighty Norse ship and it only heightened his want to know more about his slightly odd new neighbour. 

“That’s cool! Well, now Freyr has passed it to Lukas, you should be honoured!” Matthias laughed and Lukas’s cheeks caught a pink tinge.

“I mean, technically it still belongs to Freyr.” Lukas said a little quieter, and when Matthias raised an eyebrow and answered with an _oh?_ it was Lukas’s turn to sheepishly grin. “Freyr is my cat.”

Matthias laughed again, now completely enchanted by Lukas. He’d brought with him to Mytholm a different air, and Matthias couldn’t help but find it refreshing. For the past week, Lukas had been the talk of the village and the main occupier of Matthias’s thoughts, yet he didn’t even know it. He’d just stayed in his own little world down on the canal. 

Matthias only realised that he’d been staring at Lukas, lost in thought, when Lukas spoke up asked him if he wanted to join him on _Skidbladnir_ on their trip up the canal.

“What? Like right now? With you?” Matthias stuttered, and Lukas’s brows furrowed,

“It’s fine if you don’t want to, I just-“

“I’d _love_ to!” he interrupted Lukas, elated by the offer, and once again grinned widely as the shy, crooked smile appeared on Lukas’s lips.

\-------

The low, growly thrum of the engine resonated through _Skidbladnir_ as she cruised along the canal. Matthias had stood and leant against the roof of the boat as it just about came to waist height and watched Lukas as he expertly pushed away from the bank, opened throttle, and guided the narrowboat away from Mytholmroyd with gentle movements on the tiller. He’d forgotten just how beautiful the river was when cruising on a narrowboat, especially when they had broken into the countryside and the banks became wilder. 

The last time he’d been out on a boat was with Gilbert on his boat _Gilbird_ a couple of years ago. Though cruising with Gilbert while they shared a pack of beer and listened to cheesy 80’s hits on the radio had been much different of course to how he was carving through the river with Lukas right now, with no words being said and just the sound of the engine and the birds chirping as they darted in and out of the trees along the bank. In this moment Matthias wondered why on earth he’d never been compelled to try and go out on _The Sandpiper_ and had been missing out on this the whole time he’d been a liveaboard.

Out of the corner of his eye Matthias looked at Lukas as the breeze blew around them, his loose blond curls swept back as he kept his eyes cast straight ahead along _Skidbladnir _and down the river. Now that Matthias was stood close to him on the somewhat cramped deck above the engine room he couldn’t help but notice his hearing aids as his ears now became uncovered by his hair. He wore them over both ears, with a large, clear mould snugly sat in his ear canal completely sealing it off. They were a little chunkier than Matthias had thought they’d be when he’d imagined what they looked like whenever he’d heard someone talk about them in the past, though he’d never seen anyone wear them before.__

____

But the hearing aids weren’t the only thing that caught Matthias attention. He couldn’t help but think about how handsome Lukas was, feeling a slight blush creeping over his own face as the thought crossed his mind. He had delicate features, a rather button-like nose and long pale eyelashes, which contrasted with his strong, sharp jawline and high cheekbones.

____

Lukas’s eyes slid away from watching the river as he must have felt Matthias’s gaze on him, and Matthias quickly looked away before his eyes met Lukas’s as if he’d been looking out toward the river bank the whole time.

__*_ _

After a further 20 minutes or so of quiet cruising, they must have been somewhere between Mytholm and Hebden Bridge when Lukas spotted an empty mooring spot beneath a huge old willow tree deep in the countryside. Matthias ducked as Lukas guided _Skidbladnir_ through the low hanging branches of the tree as they bowed into the river before hopping across to the towpath and quickly grabbing the towrope and tugged the boat to a stop as Lukas killed the engine, bringing her to a stop perfectly by the riverbank.

____

Lukas took a large stride from _Skidbladnir_ to the bank and Matthias watched from where he was crouched down and tying the rope to the mooring post as he took in a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. Then, he turned to Matthias as he stood up, eyes flickering from Matthias, to the mooring post and back to Matthias again.

____

“Ah, thanks for tying that.” Lukas said, bringing his hand up toward his chin and tipped his fingers towards it before opening his palm out almost like someone might do after they had blown a kiss at you as the words left his mouth. Matthias had noticed that when Lukas spoke he always moved his hands around a little. At first he thought he was just someone who liked to express with their hands, but the more he thought about it they didn’t just seem like random movements of expression. After watching that last quick movement Matthias suddenly realised that Lukas must be signing loosely; perhaps from habit more than anything else as of course Matthias didn’t understand the signs.

____

“No bother! Thank _you_ for bringing me out here with you! I feel like we’re buddies already.” Matthias said lightly, and an odd expression flashed across Lukas’s face before it fell back to its usual blank canvas.

____

“You’re welcome. It’s nice to have the company. Have you had breakfast?” Lukas asked as he glanced down at the time on his watch. When Matthias shook his head, Lukas stepped back onto the deck of _Skidbladnir_ and beckoned for Matthias to follow with a jerk of his head. As Matthias stood behind Lukas as he unlocked the doors and ducked down inside the boat once he’d opened them, he felt as though there were butterflies in his chest, eager to be stepping on board Lukas’s home. There was sort of an unwritten rule among the boating community that it was considered an honour or at least a privilege to be invited onto another narrowboat.

____

For most people their boats were their sacred spaces, their own tiny little corner of the world. Matthias had never felt this way about _The Sandpiper_ however and would welcome anyone on board. Following Lukas down through the engine room and into the saloon, Mathias silently gasped when he saw _Skidbladnir’s_ interior as it stretched out before him. She was _beautiful_.

____

The walls and floor were both made from the same polished timber that curved around the contours of the boat, and it was, for want of a better word, cluttered from floor to ceiling with everything from paintings and photographs to potted plants, ornaments and books. The wood burner stood proudly in the corner along with a worn and comfy looking sofa, a fluffy white cat curled up on its cushions. _Skidbladnir_ was homely, cosy, and had soul.

____

__“Wow, Lukas this is beautiful.” Matthias muttered quietly under his breath and Lukas turned and looked at him over his shoulder,_ _

____

“Pardon?”

____

Matthias blinked at him, “I just said that your boat is beautiful,”

____

“Oh. Thank you.” Lukas brushed off the compliment as he went over to the galley and started taking some plates out of the cupboard above the cooker.

____

As he busied himself preparing something to eat, Matthias crossed the galley and looked around some more, petting the cat a couple of times as he stretched out on the sofa. He couldn’t believe at first how a cat would be content on a boat on the water, but now that he was on board Lukas’s boat it didn’t really feel like one at all and could have easily been a tiny, quirky apartment. On the coffee table by the sofa Matthias spotted a pile of pencil drawings and he peered to look at them. They were good, and Lukas’s art style was wonderfully soft and whimsical. A couple were sketches of the cat and some of the others looked like trolls or elves. Then, he noticed the empty envelope of the urgent letter that he had delivered to Lukas torn and discarded to them along with a card that stood up on the edge of the table.

____

Matthias glanced at Lukas who still had his back turned over the cooker before he picked the card up and looked at it in more detail before opening it up, reading the scruffy handwriting inside.

____

_’To Lukas, Happy Birthday! :) Sorry that I couldn’t be there this year, but I’ll make up for it over summer break I promise. Have a good one, ya punk. Lots of love, Emil x’_

____

Matthias’s head snapped up as he closed the card and set it back down again onto the coffee table.

__“When was it your birthday?” he called over to the galley, and Lukas spun around on the spot, a wooden spoon clenched in his fist. Matthias couldn’t recall seeing anyone visit Lukas this past week, and the thought of him having spent his birthday alone didn’t sit well with him._ _

__“Who said you could poke around at my stuff?” Lukas said, a tone of irritation in his voice and Matthias spluttered an apology,_ _

__“Sorry I didn’t mean to! I was stroking the cat and I saw the drawings on the table then I spotted the card!” he held his hands up pleading innocence and Lukas sighed before he turned back to the eggs that were spitting in the frying pan._ _

__“If you must know, it’s today. May 17th.” Lukas muttered._ _

__“Oh shit, Happy Birthday, Lukas!” Matthias cried loudly and quickly went to stand by Lukas._ _

__“Why didn’t you say anything about it!” he persisted, and Lukas flinched when Matthias spoke from right next to him and his hearing aid whistled with the feedback from Matthias’s voice._ _

__“God, you’re so loud.” He hissed before continuing, “ And I didn’t say anything because why should it matter? It’s just another day really when you get older.” Lukas said, and Matthias had to stop himself from rolling his eyes._ _

__“You say ‘older’ as if you’re in your 50’s. C’mon, how old is the birthday boy today, then?” Matthias chided playfully._ _

__Lukas smirked and shook his head as he flipped the eggs in the pan, not able to stay mad at Matthias over enthusiasm._ _

__“I’m 27.” Was all he said as he began to take the eggs out of the pan and placed them on top of two slices of buttered toast before passing a plate to Matthias._ _

__"Now, here. Take this and let's eat."_ _

__\-------------_ _

__It was about 1pm by the time _Skidbladnir_ crossed under the bridge at Mytholm and Matthias was sat on the roof with one of the two ciders in his hand that he’d left out for Lukas on the second day he’d moored up. Lukas had the other. _ _

__They had sat out on the towpath beneath the willow tree and ate their eggs on toast and talked for an hour or so. It was mainly Matthias that did they talking as he told Lukas all about life in Mytholm. He filled him in on the best places to shop and went through all of the events that were due to happen in the summer. In June there was to be a small music festival and at the end of August there was the annual harvest festival and farmers market. Lukas had nodded along with interest and asked the odd question here and there, and Matthias hadn't wanted their conversation to end. He refrained himself from asking too much about Lukas even though he was curious about why he had moved here and what he did for work. That, Matthias hoped, would be a conversation for another time.__

____

____

__As _Willow_ and _The Sandpiper_ came into view, moored peacefully, Lukas began to near his mooring he put his cider bottle down on the deck and had one hand on the tiller and one hand on the throttle, dropping it down and the engine rumbled as he guided the 70 feet of boat effortlessly toward the bank._ _

__Matthias watched him as he concentrated, the pink tip of his tongue poking out as he leaned over to inch the boat closer and closer to the edge of the canal. Wanting to do something for Lukas to celebrate his birthday he pulled his smart phone from his pocket while Lukas was busy mooring up and opened up google._ _

__In the search bar he typed _’How to sign Happy Birthday in sign language’_ and clicked on the first video that the search result brought up. He watched carefully as the woman in the video demonstrated how to sign, and replayed the short clip a couple of times before he was confident enough that he’d remembered it._ _

__Once they had moored up and both stepped off the boat, Matthias quickly watched the video a final time before shoving his phone back in his pocket. He then took a swig of his cider and finished the last dregs before he tossed it into the bin by a public bench behind them._ _

__“Thanks for breakfast and for inviting me out, Lukas! Lemme know when I can return the favour. Well, maybe not the cruising part.” He added the last part quickly as he shrugged his shoulders and laughed._ _

__Lukas’s pale skin was a little flushed from the sun as he leant against _Skidbladnir_ and took a sip from his own cider bottle. He smiled and nodded, “Don’t thank me, and I will.” _ _

__Matthias took in a breath and hesitated for a moment, pinned beneath Lukas’s gaze. “Well I need to get going, I have some errands to run today that I’ve totally procrastinated doing for too long, but before I do I just wanted to say this…”_ _

__Animatedly, Matthias patted both hands against his chest in an upwards motion, then took his hand and spread his fingers with his palm facing inwards and touched his middle finger to his chin and drew an invisible line down to the middle of his chest, completing the sign. He could feel himself turning red in embarrassment, knowing that he’d probably signed it completely wrong and hoped he hadn’t said anything awful as Lukas’s mouth fell open. But then, one of biggest smiles Matthias thought he would probably ever see on Lukas face broke across it as his cheeks turned a little darker._ _

__Like earlier, Lukas brought his hand to his chin and signed ‘thank you’ in BSL but this time he didn’t speak._ _

__Pleased with the reaction, Matthias grinned wildly before shoving his hands in the pockets of his shorts. Although he was sad at the thought that Lukas would have spent his birthday alone if he hadn't gone and spoke to him this morning, he was content enough with the fact that Lukas probably wouldn't have wanted a loud, large gathering anyway._ _

__“Well, see ya! Thanks again!” he called as he turned and made his way up the towpath towards the village high street. Once his back was turned he closed his eyes for a moment and let out a happy sigh, unable to shake the image of Lukas’s smile from his mind._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to stop powering through writing this fic so quickly but I _can't stop._ Hopefully it's not too badly written cause it's kinda rushed hahah
> 
> The chapter probably could have been shorter as there isn't really too much of a plot to this fic and y'all can probably already see where it's going lol
> 
> Also, I've been studying BSL partially to actually try to learn it, but partially for this fic. It's hard to write and describe the signs so I'm sorry to anyone reading who is fluent in or knows BSL. Please correct me if anything is wrong, I would love your feedback!!
> 
> But anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!
> 
> -lumassen x


	4. Chapter Four - The Deaf Kid

**Chapter Four – The Deaf Kid**

Matthias looked out of the porthole window and shook his head at the darkening sky and rain as it poured down outside before he picked up his laptop from his bedside table. Flopping down onto his stomach on the bed, he and opened it up and logged on. For the past few days the sunshine had disappeared and grey clouds had rolled in. Today had been the worst day for it and Matthias had got soaked to the skin while on his rounds. He'd had to take his uniform to the dry cleaners as on living on a narrowboat meant he didn't have a washer or dryer. He'd washed a couple of pairs of underwear a few times in the sink when he forgot to pick up his clean laundry, but more often than not he had a good routine when it came to his dry cleaning.

Yesterday Matthias had come home to two bottles of beer hidden in the corner by the front door of _The Sandpiper_ probably in return for the cider, but he hadn’t seen Lukas since Sunday. Although he didn’t really want to dwell on it too much, over the past week or so Matthias had heard some of the people in the village talking about _Skidbladnir_ and its owner, calling him ignorant and blunt and not very friendly. Matthias had quickly dispelled some of the bad mouthing and made sure to tell people about what a nice Sunday he’d had out on the river with Lukas. He also politely confronted Joan from the butchers when she complained that Lukas had ignored her when she said hello to him when she was walking her yappy Jack Russell as she passed him when he was sat on the roof of _Skidbladnir_ ; the same Jack Russell that Matthias didn’t like very much as it always nipped at his fingers when he posted Joan’s mail through her letterbox. He’d explained to Joan that Lukas was hard of hearing and didn’t mean to be rude, and upon telling her realised that he felt a little ashamed at himself too as he had thought the same at first when Lukas hadn’t answered the door when he knocked. 

Matthias’s fingers lingered over the mouse pad of his laptop for a moment as he stopped scrolling his facebook page and the cursor blinked as it hovered over the search bar. Looking down at his fingers as they lightly tapped over the keyboard, he typed out ‘Lukas Thomassen’ into the search bar and hit enter, scrolling through the search results looking for the familiar face and blond hair. Just as he clicked onto the second page of search results, a pop up message from Skype flashed up in the middle of the screen and the name and photo of his step brother appeared.

Sitting up a little, Matthias clicked on the little green icon to accept the video call and grinned as the slightly pixelated picture filled the screen.

“Hey Ber! Hey Tino!” he said as raised his voice and waved at the screen. Matthias was one of those people who didn’t realise than you didn’t need to shout when on video chat, and it was just like talking on the phone only with the added picture. 

“Hi Matthias! We aren’t disturbing you are we?” Tino said, and shoved his face a bit further onto the screen. 

Berwald was Matthias’s step brother, and Tino was his fiancé. They’d been dating for as long as Matthias could really remember and were pretty much the text book definition of high school sweethearts. Usually when they skyped each other it was Tino that did the majority of the talking while Berwald sat beside him and listened, interjecting when needed, and Matthias had always found it amusing how different yet also so alike Tino and Berwald were.

“Nah course not! What’s up? You excited for the wedding? Not long to go now, huh?” Matthias beamed.

Berwald and Tino had been engaged for two years, and finally they were getting married on July 27th. Matthias was Berwald's best man, and had been looking forward to the wedding since their rather messy stag party in February.

Tino touched his hand to his chest, "Well, that’s one of the things we wanted to talk to you about. We’re sending out the invitations soon and organising the catering this week so we were wondering if you were bringing a plus one?”

Matthias’s grin faltered a little as he shook his head, “Nope, just me!”

He watched as Tino’s brow’s knitted together a little at his response, but he still smiled just as he always did and cast a quick glance at Berwald before looking back to the screen, “Okay, that’s fine! But if you do decide that you want to bring someone closer to the time just let us know. I’m sure we could squeeze in an extra chair if it’s for family!” 

Matthias really liked Tino and saw him as a brother rather than just an in-law. He was kind and personable and radiated a warmth that Matthias had yet to find in anyone else. He was also a great drinking buddy. Of course Matthias liked Berwald too, but he was his actual brother, and it was always a bonus when you got on with your in-laws. 

The three chatted for a while about life and recent events and at one point Matthias’s nephew, Peter, had come running into the room and stuck his face way too close to the webcam as he showed off a drawing he’d done of their dog Hana. Matthias was just finishing telling Berwald and Tino a story about a crazy lady who came into the post office every now and again and tried to send letters to her future self when there was a knock at the front door of _The Sandpiper_. He said his quick goodbyes before hanging up and closing his laptop, then padded out of his bedroom and through the length of the boat, ducking his head out into the rain as he opened the door.

“Can I help ya?” he said to the man that stood on the deck soaking wet with a damp and limp looking paper bag with the logo of the local Chinese takeaway on the front.

“I’ve been knocking on the door of the other boat over there for five minutes and no one is coming to the door.” They said, sounding annoyed.

“Which one?” Matthias said as he stepped out into the rain and glanced first at _Willow_ then to _Skidbladnir_ although he knew which one it probably was.  
“That one.” The man said, pointing to _Skidbladnir_.

The lights were on inside and smoke was coming from the chimney, so Lukas was clearly in. Matthias wrung his hands for a moment, knowing too well himself that Lukas obviously couldn’t hear when someone knocked on his door. Then he turned back to the delivery man,

“Have you read the delivery instructions?” he asked, and the man looked puzzled as he shook his head. If Matthias knew that Lukas couldn’t hear a knock at the door, then surely Lukas himself would know to specify this when ordering a delivery. Matthias slicked his hair back from his face as it began to saturate from the rain as he peered at the screen on the delivery man’s phone displaying Lukas’s order when he pulled it from his pocket.

“Ah. It says to call when I’m out front.” The man said awkwardly and Matthias folded his arms across his chest, raising an eyebrow as the delivery guy dialled Lukas’s number and put the phone to his ear letting it ring as he stepped off _The Sandpiper_ and onto the towpath. It must have only rang two or three times before the doors to _Skidbladnir_ opened and Matthias saw Lukas step out onto the deck and watched as he took the takeaway bag from the delivery guy who stuttered apologies at Lukas before he turned away. He nodded at Matthias before he made his way back up to towpath toward the village. 

Matthias didn’t think Lukas had seen him and so wanting to leave him to his dinner in peace he began to step down the first of the three steps leading down into _The Sandpiper_ thinking about what to have for his own dinner when he heard Lukas call his name, though his voice sounded a little different then usual. Straightening up, Matthias peered over the edge of his boat and along the roof to where Lukas stood on his own deck at the other end. For a split second Matthias wondered if he should grab his trusty flip flops from by the door, but he was only going a couple of feet down the towpath so decided it wasn’t worth it. Closing the doors and putting them on the latch, he stepped off _The Sandpiper_ and tiptoed across the grass to _Skidbladnir_ and stopped just by its mooring post.

“What’s up?” he asked Lukas, who stood in just a loose shirt and boxers on the deck, the slowly deteriorating paper bag of food under one arm. 

“Sorry, I can’t hear you. Come inside a minute.” Lukas said, pointing to his ear. Matthias had to concentrate on what Lukas had said to make sure he heard right as his enunciation was a little off and he over pronounced his words. Probably noticing the slight confusion on Matthias’s face at his change in speech, Lukas tilted his head a little in Matthias’s direction, and tucked his hair back behind this ear, and Matthias could see that his ear was missing his hearing aid. Then as he disappeared down into his boat, Matthias gingerly stepped across the small gap between _Skidbladnir_ and the towpath and followed him below deck, closing the doors behind him. _The Sandpiper_ wasn’t a cold boat, but there was something about the different heat that came from the fire that crackled away in the wood burner in the corner on _Skidbladnir_ in comparison to _The Sandpiper’s_ gas heating system. It made Matthias’s skin prickle as it warmed him. 

He hovered in the doorway as he watched Lukas set the bag of food down on the kitchen counter before he picked his hearing aids up from the coffee table and fiddled around for a moment as he placed them over his ears and then inserted the moulds. There was a quiet _beep_ as Lukas turned them on and then his face relaxed a little.  
“There. Sorry about that.” He said, and Matthias was amazed at how different his voice sounded compared to when he wasn’t able to hear himself talk. 

“Don’t apologise!” Matthias said, waving his hand in dismissal.

“Delivery driver’s never read the special instructions.” Lukas muttered as he began to lift the little white cartons from the bag and set them out on the counter. “Have you eaten? If not, do you wanna share this with me?” he asked, pointing to the food and turning to Matthias for a moment as he still stood fidgeting in the doorway, but it was more of a rhetorical question as Matthias noticed that he had already taken two plates out from the cupboard.

“Are you sure you have enough food? You don’t mind?” Matthias said as he crossed the floor and stopped beside Lukas and watched as he heaped a spoonful of chow mein into the plate.

“Nah, there’s too much food anyway. I had to order £10’s worth for them to deliver and I can never eat it all by myself.” Lukas shrugged, putting a couple of spring rolls onto the plate then slid it towards Matthias, “Cutlery is in the drawer behind you.”

Matthias couldn’t shake the feeling that he was imposing as he stood in the middle of the small galley with the plate of lukewarm Chinese food in his hand, but Lukas didn’t seem at all bothered and spoke to Matthias as if they’d known each other for a year rather than a week. It was charming, and Matthias found himself drawn to Lukas. 

Lukas sighed when he turned to find that Matthias hadn't moved to get the cutlery, “Fine, I’ll just get stuff for us to eat with then, shall I?” He huffed as he shooed Matthias out of the way and opened the drawer, taking out two knives and two forks before closing it again with a jerk of his hip and nodded towards the couch. 

Looking to the couch, Matthias expected to see the cat curled up there, but he was nowhere to be seen as he looked around the boat before he sank into the soft cushions. 

“Where’s Freyr?” he asked as Lukas sat down next to him tucking one leg under himself and leaning against the couch arm. 

“I dunno, he has so many hiding places for such a small boat.” Lukas said as he brought a forkful of noodles to his mouth before puckering his lips to blow on them as if to cool them down. The two of them ate in silence for a while and Matthias’s eyes continued to wander around _Skidbladnir_. There was a photograph on the wall in front of him of a younger looking Lukas and other boy smiling beneath some trees along with a couple of other photographs. One of the cat and one of the other boy by himself, though he looked older in that one. Then once Matthias had been round the room his eyes landed on Lukas, watching him from the corner of his eye as he stabbed at a spring roll struggling to get it onto his fork.

“So, you can’t hear anything at all without your hearing aids?” he asked absentmindedly as he studied Lukas then instantly regretted it, clamping a hand over his mouth, “Sorry I didn’t mean to say that. You don’t have to answer that.”

But Lukas just laughed a little, light and breathy and Matthias was relieved that he hadn't taken offence. 

“It’s alright, honestly. It’s usually the first thing people ask so I’m surprised you’ve managed to go a week before saying anything.” Lukas said, though he kept his gaze lowered and pushed his food around his plate.

Matthias listened as Lukas explained that he’d contracted a bad sinus infection when he was 8 that had left him with what doctors thought was temporary hearing loss until his hearing ended up deteriorating. Then, when he was 9 he was finally considered deaf. Without his hearing aids he could only hear very loud, low frequency sounds.

“I started learning sign language when I was 10 but I hated it at first. People suddenly flooded me with apologies and sadness, as if I was broken even though I could function well with my hearing aids. I know they had good intentions, but I was never just Lukas again after that in their eyes. I was the poor deaf kid.”

Lukas finished speaking and finally made eye contact with Matthias, a shy and somewhat sad smile on his lips.

“Well, I think it’s cool. So how come you wear your hearing aids if you can sign?” Matthias said, his curiosity piqued. Although Lukas’s deafness was one of the first things he noticed, it was also one of the first things he soon forgot to pay attention to when he got used to it. What stuck with him instead was Lukas’s dry sense of humour, his wit and his helpful and forthcoming nature. 

Lukas scoffed, “Ha, thanks. I’m thankful for my hearing aids and I wear them solely to communicate, as so few people can sign. As great as they are, wearing them all day gives me headache and sometimes it’s nice to just switch them off and let my brain enjoy the silence that’s so normal to me. But then it’s not normal to everyone else.”

Matthias cocked his head to one side, “How’d ya mean?”

Lukas looked at him for a moment, a contemplative look on his face before he carried on, “How many times have you seen people signing in public and stared at them without realising? Or maybe you’re flicking through the TV channels, how many of them have a sign interpreter in the corner? Not many. How about when you go grocery shopping and the cashier asks how you’re doing and if you would like your receipt in the bag, what do you do when you can’t hear them speak?”

As he spoke, Lukas didn’t sound angry or annoyed, but passionate, and Matthias couldn’t help but realise how many things that Lukas had mentioned he’d never even thought about and just took for granted.

“The world is designed for people who are hearing. If you’re deaf and choose not to wear hearing aids, or can’t use them, there isn’t a place for you beyond a deaf community if you’re lucky enough to find one. I was born hearing so it's easier for me, but for people born deaf it's a lot harder.”

Matthias looked down at his plate, his food now cold. He thought about the fact that half the village had already decided that Lukas was ignorant and spacy because of the fact that he either hadn’t heard them when he’d spoken to them, or because he hadn’t actively tried to introduce himself to them just for the sake of being neighbourly. 

“Hey, you don’t need to be depressed about it. I’m just sayin’.” Lukas said, an anxious tone to his voice, prodding Matthias’s thigh with his foot as he slid it across the couch. Matthias set his plate down on the coffee table and looked up, smiling at Lukas.

“It’s not depressing, and I’m glad that you told me that. Just know that you don’t hafta wear your hearing aids for the sake of us, or me. We don’t need to talk to hang out.”

Lukas’s face broke out into a blush, starting at his neck and working his way up as he quickly returned his attention back to his plate.

“What makes you think I wanna hang out with you?” he said, though Matthias knew he was teasing as he glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and smirked.

After they finished their meals, Matthias insisted that he wash up in thanks for the food as Lukas added a couple of extra logs to the wood burner. The rain continued to pour heavily outside, drumming on the low roof of the boat and causing it to rock gently on the river as the current picked up with the increase in water. 

“Well, it’s late and I’m up early tomorrow for work.” Matthias said as he put the last plate on the dish rack and dried his hands on the pot towel over his shoulder before hanging it up over the cupboard door, “I should probably get going.”

Lukas straightened up from where he was crouching by the fire and kicked the firewood basket back into the corner with his foot.

“I was thinking I could come and take a look at _The Sandpiper’s_ engine for you on Saturday if you’re not busy?” he said as he followed Matthias to the door and leant against the boat wall as Matthias held his hand over the latch.

“Are you sure? Don’t feel like you have to.” Matthias said, running a hand through his still damp hair, and Lukas rolled his eyes.

“I want to. There’s nothing sadder than a narrowboat that can’t cruise.” 

Matthias narrowed his eyes, “Wow, okay, no need to say it like _that_. Just cause your boat is gorgeous and ticks over like a champ doesn’t mean you can shit all over mine.” He pouted playfully as he opened the door and ducked out onto the deck, patting the top of the doorframe on _Skidbladnir_ as he did with _The Sandpiper_. 

Then, bending down, Matthias looked at Lukas as he stared up at him beneath his heavy eyelids in the doorway. As he stood there with the glow of the firelight behind him, his blond curls framing his face and his legs bare from wearing nothing but his t-shirt and boxers Matthias couldn’t help but think that Lukas was just as gorgeous as his boat. He was funny and interesting and Matthias found that his heart began to beat faster whenever he was around him.

“I like a lie in on Saturdays, don’t you dare wake me before 10.” Matthias said down to Lukas who only grinned at him as he took hold of the edge of the door.

“Fine, 9:30 it is.” Lukas said with a smirk as he closed the doors, then called from the other side, “Goodnight, Matthias!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lukas 100% ordered too much chinese food on purpose. fight me.


	5. Chapter Five - The Sandpiper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is super cheesy. Brace yourself.

**Chapter Five – The Sandpiper**

It was Saturday, 12:30pm, and despite his teasing Lukas hadn’t knocked for Matthias until a couple of minutes after 11, letting him sleep in. By the time Matthias had rolled out of bed and opened the doors, Lukas had already taken the cap off on the diesel tank of _The Sandpiper_ and was filling it up from a large canister on the towpath. As the rest of the week had gone by leading up to this morning, Matthias found that he had seen Lukas every day since he’d invited him to share his takeaway on Wednesday night. They hadn’t said much to each other when they did, and a couple of times they had only waved at each other. But it was nice, and Matthias felt like a small bond was forming between him and Lukas. Matthias also noticed however that Lukas seemed to be sat on the roof of _Skidbladnir_ a lot more in the evenings around the exact time when he was on his way back from work. Manon and Lukas had also finally met, and when Matthias went aboard _Willow_ last night for a couple of drinks and a catch up with Manon she seemed to have taken a shine to Lukas and had shared Matthias’s same frustration about some of the people in the village judging him before they even knew him.

Currently, Lukas’s arms were covered from the tips of his fingers to the crook of his elbows in grease from _The Sandpiper’s_ engine. He was stood down in the engine bay beneath the fore deck and had been for about an hour. Matthias hovered above him, peering down at the top of his head and passing him tools when he asked for them.

“How old did you say your boat is?” Lukas called, his voice echoing a little off the walls of the engine bay as he tinkered away.

“I didn’t. I don’t really know.” Matthias admitted, and bit his lip as Lukas straightened up and held a piece of moldy looking rubber tubing up at him.

“Well, there’s no nice way to say this, but your stern tube is fucked.” Lukas placed the tubing aside before he splayed his palms out flat on the deck and hoisted himself out of the engine bay leaving two greasy hand prints on the wood and Matthias couldn’t help but feel deflated. Wiping his brow on the back of his arm, Lukas exhaled sharply then bent down to pick up his water bottle and took a swig, his cheeks flushed from the physical exertion. Now that it was nearing midday and the sky was clear of clouds the sun was really starting to beat down. Matthias was sweating just watching Lukas work, partially from the hot sun and partially from his anticipation as to whether Lukas could get _The Sandpiper_ running without injuring himself.

“But although it’s fucked, it doesn’t mean it’s not fixable.” Lukas continued with a glint in his eye as he looked over at Matthias as he dabbed away a drop of water from the side of his mouth with his thumb, “I’ve put a temporary seal on it. All we have to do now is open throttle and see if she starts.”

“Oh shit, really? Lukas, are you kidding?” Matthias instantly perked up as Lukas put his water bottle down and stepped over to the control box by the door. He flicked a couple of switches and then looked over his shoulder, a somewhat smug expression on his face, when the green ignition light suddenly blinked to life.

“I’ll let you do the honours while I open fuel. Here, watch,” Lukas beckoned for Matthias, and he leapt clumsily over the hole in the deck leading down to the engine bay with a large stride and squashed close to Lukas as he explained what each button and switch on the control box did. If this were anyone else, Matthias would have felt embarrassed about the fact that he called himself a liveaboard and yet he’d never started the engine of his own boat, let alone ever navigated one on the water. But there was something about the way Lukas spoke to him as he ran over the controls in just enough detail that Matthias understood, but not to the point where he was talking to him like he was stupid.

When Matthias was confident enough that he understood which order to press the buttons in and when to turn the ignition key, Lukas dropped back down below deck and disappeared completely for a moment fumbled around before he reappeared only visible from the waist up.

“Okay, fuel is open. Start her up, Captain.” Lukas said, and Matthias flicked the switches and took in a breath as he turned the key in the ignition first to ‘heat’ for a few seconds as Lukas had instructed and then to ‘start’ for the moment of truth. The engine ticked and ticked and ticked but then died again, and Matthias looked to Lukas with knitted brows, exhaling in frustration.

“Don’t worry, just try again. If she hasn’t ran for over 7 years then it would have been a miracle if you started her on the first ignition. Try turning to heat for a couple more seconds this time to give the glow plugs a bit more of a boost before you turn to start.” Lukas said, his voice calm, and Matthias wondered how he remembered all of the narrowboat jargon. Until he’d been out with Lukas on _Skidbladnir_ Matthias hadn’t really been too bothered about the fact that he’d never cruised before. But now he seemed see the river in a different light since he’d cruised with Lukas and he now so desperately wanted to be able to do it again on his own boat.

Taking in another breath, deeper this time for luck, Matthias turned the key in the ignition again and had to stop himself from jumping up and down on the spot when the fuel caught and _The Sandpiper’s_ engine chugged and choked to life. The first few seconds were excruciating, but finally the engine broke out into a low thrum sending vibrations through the floor beneath Matthias’s feet. Compared to _Skidbladnir_ , _The Sandpiper’s_ engine was loud to the point where Matthias could hardly hear himself as he shouted above the noise to Lukas.

“She’s alive! Lukas you did it!”

Matthias beamed, still holding the ignition key between his fingers and didn’t want to let go in case the engine shut off. He only let go when Lukas pulled himself up from the engine bay and slammed the hatch closed, sealing the engine below the deck, and threw his arms around him.

“ _Thank you_!” he cried as Lukas wiggled free from his embrace. When they pulled apart Matthias’s t-shirt was covered in engine oil from where Lukas had pushed him away.

“Not so loud, you idiot!” Lukas shouted over the noise from the engine loud enough to cause his usually soft voice to crack a little, and Matthias hurried back to the control box and pressed the button that killed the engine.

“Sorry, I’m just excited.” Matthias grinned and Lukas rolled his eyes.

“Yes, I can see that.” He said, placing a hand on his hip then looked down and tutted at the oily handprint he’d left on his shirt. “I’m going to go and shower.”

Lukas turned on his heel and stepped off _The Sandpiper_ and Matthias leant on the roof, eyes following him down the towpath as he made his way toward _Skidbladnir_.

“I’ll make us lunch and we’ll go for a cruise?” Matthias called after Lukas and he stopped to look over his shoulder,

“You want to take her out _now_? After she hasn’t left your mooring for 7 years and only just started running two minutes ago?” he said, cocking his head to the side and raising an eyebrow.

Matthias just nodded, determined to get out on the water and make the most of the day. “Sure, why not?”

Lukas looked sceptical, his eyes quickly running over _The Sandpiper_ for a moment before he looked back to Matthias and sighed softly.

“Fine. There’s a mooring just past the locks near Hebden Bridge that I wanted to visit anyway.”

Matthias stuck his thumbs up, “Okay! We’ll go when you’re ready!” he said before he disappeared below deck.

* * *

It had been little over an hour and a half since Matthias had started the engine of _The Sandpiper_ again and Lukas had slowly pushed away from the bank and brought the narrowboat out onto the river. Matthias had simply watched in fascination and asked questions as he thought of them as Lukas’s hands made small but sure movements on the tiller and he opened throttle like clockwork whenever the engine started to struggle.

When Lukas had come back from his shower before they set off, his hair still damp and dressed in fresh clothes, Matthias couldn’t help but realise how attractive Lukas was in every way as he softly padded down the steps and came aboard _The Sandpiper_. He had kept his attention focused a little too much on making up their sandwiches to stop himself from staring.

Once they were out on the river and had reached a steady speed on an open stretch of the canal, Lukas stepped aside and nodded toward the tiller. Matthias had eagerly took hold of it and watched Lukas as he placed his hands behind himself on the roof and lifted himself up so that he was sat on it and facing Matthias with his legs swinging over the open doorway. He’d instructed Matthias for a while, looking over his shoulder every now and again to make sure they were still going in a straight line and not heading for the bank, and Matthias quickly got the hang of how it felt to be in control of _The Sandpiper_. Then after a while Lukas began to relaxand brought his legs up so that he was hugging them loosely to his chest and he cast his gaze out in front.

A silence fell between them, and the only sound was the deep thrum of the engine as Matthias took the opportunity to finally let his eyes wander over Lukas as he sat before him. He was wearing a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the buttons only done up just over half way with a pair of blue jeans that were sloppily cut off at the knee. His shoes were discarded somewhere below deck as his feet were bare. He was a picture of tranquillity that Matthias couldn’t tear his eyes from as he wondered just what it _was_ about Lukas that captivated him.

“Just another mile or so up the cut and we should be at the lock. The mooring isn’t too far then once we’re on the other side-” Lukas said, turning to face Matthias and raised an eyebrow when he caught him looking at him.

“What’re you looking at?”

Matthias laughed and shook his head, “Nothin’, just watching where I’m going. I am steering a boat here y’know.” He said with a shrug and Lukas huffed and cast his attention back out to the river.

When they reached the lock, Lukas showed Matthias how to bring _The Sandpiper_ to a stop before he leapt gracefully across to the bank and began to operate the lock. The water roared on the other side of the gates as the canal began to level and Lukas made awkward small talk with the lockmaster. He’d shuffled out of his hut and assisted Lukas in heaving open the heavy gates once the water was level, and then at the signal from Lukas, Matthias opened throttle and guided _The Sandpiper_ through the lock then stopped again on the other side. The lockmaster disappeared back inside his hut with a quick wave and Lukas hopped back aboard.

“Well, Captain Matthias. You’ve just successfully navigated your first lock. Soon you’ll be a real livaboard.” Lukas teased as he stood next to Matthias on the deck and they carried on down the river.

*

By the time they moored up Matthias was starving. It was now 3:30 in the afternoon and he hadn’t had any breakfast that morning and so he tucked into his sandwich with relish. The spot that Lukas had wanted to visit was by a nature reserve, and Lukas and Matthias were sat on a bench by the large pond they’d walked to watching a fisherman reel in his catch. The paths were overgrown, the last of the spring daffodils dying back to make room for the summer wildflowers. They had wandered around the pond talking about this and that until they found the bench, leaving _The Sandpiper_ moored up on the canal as they stopped for lunch.

Reaching for another sandwich from the spread he’d laid out on the bench between them, Matthias sat back and watched a heron as it flew lowly across the water.

“How come you’ve never left Mytholm?” Lukas asked between mouthfuls.

Matthias shrugged, keeping his gaze on the heron as it landed at the edge of the lake on the other side to where they sat.

“I dunno. I fell in love with the village pretty much as soon as I moved here and never really had a reason to leave. It’s funny ‘cause I bought <em>The Sandpiper</em> thinking I would go out on adventures like you do, but the thought of doing it alone didn’t really seem all that fun when it came down to it.”

Picking at the crusts on his sandwich and throwing the crumbs to the ducks that splashed around in the water in front of them, Lukas nodded a little,

“So why didn’t you just sell _The Sandpiper_ and get an apartment or a house instead?”

Matthias turned now to meet Lukas’s eye and raised an eyebrow, “Are ya kidding? Even though I don’t _go_ anywhere on her doesn’t mean I don’t love being a liveaboard. There’s just somethin’ about being on the water that I love. Plus it sounds cool to say I live on a boat.” He laughed a little and winked at Lukas on his last sentence, though he realised how silly he must sound to Lukas who lived and travelled on _Skidbladnir_ as narrowboats were intended.

The conversation fell away as Matthias finished his sandwich and Lukas rustled around with a packet of crisps. Dusting the crumbs from his fingertips, Matthias unscrewed the cap on his bottle of pop and took a swig.

“Well I bet your ladies like being brought back to the Captains quarters.” Lukas said quietly as he broke the silence.

Glancing at Lukas from the corner of his eye, Matthias nearly spat the drink back into the bottle. Instead he gulped ithe mouthful of fizzy pop down so hard it hurt his throat,

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he cried, and Lukas held a hand over his mouth as he laughed.

Screwing up the tin foil that he’d wrapped the sandwiches up into a ball, Matthias tossed it into the plastic lunch bag that was now only filled with an empty crisp packet, Lukas’s discarded crusts, and a banana skin before he stood up to sling it in the bin next to the bench. They walked slowly back to the canal they way they came.

“So what about you then?” Matthias asked, “How come you moved to Mytholm?”

He’d been curious about Lukas’s story since the day he’d stepped out onto the towpath and saw _Skidbladnir_ moored against the bank. Whenever he felt like he was getting to know him, he realised that he actually didn’t know much. He didn’t know what he did for a job, how long he’d been a livaboard, or where he had lived before he came to Mytholm. They hadn’t been the things he wanted to know the most and were mainly trivial things, but after spending time with Lukas on more than one occasion now where they had talked about more personal matters such as how he had lost his hearing Matthias found it odd that he didn’t know the basics.

Lukas kicked a loose stone on the winding path around the lake with his foot and it rolled into the water with a _plop_.

“I just ended up here. I started on the Llangollen canal, then along the Shropshire union until it joined the Trent and Mersey. I hadn’t really heard of the Rochdale canal until I got to the Trent and Mersey so I decided to make it my next stop.” He said simply, though clearly he didn’t want to elaborate as he didn’t say anything else.

Matthias looked down at their feet for a moment as they walked, realising that their strides were accidentally in unison, “What do you do for a job then? If you’ve moved around so much it must be difficult to find work each time? Especially in a village like this.” Matthias probed, determined to get more of an answer out of Lukas.

“I’m an illustrator. For children’s books, mostly. It's freelance work so it doesn't matter where I am.” Lukas said, and Matthias gasped,

“Oh shit, that’s cool! I have a lil’ nephew, what if he has one of your books? He loves to read, so you could be a real celebrity in my brother’s house and I didn’t even know it!”

“You have a brother?”

Matthias nodded, beaming, “Yeah. I’m a year older than him, but he totally has his head screwed on. He’s got a son – my nephew – and a really cool fiancé and a house and a dog.”

Then he faltered a little, realising that he was rambling and somehow the conversation had yet again diverted away from Lukas talking about himself. They broke out into the clearing on the towpath and _The Sandpiper_ came into sight. Matthias felt his heart swell a little when he saw his boat nestled against the overgrown bank and found that thanks to Lukas he’d fallen in love with the feeling of being a liveaboard all over again.

“We should probably head back.” He said, stepping across the small gap between the towpath and the deck.

Lukas followed close behind and kicked his shoes off almost immediately.

“We’re going to need to travel a little further up the river to the next lock so that we can turn around.”

Matthias’s lips formed a soft _O_. He forgot that navigating a narrowboat wasn’t like a car where you could just do a three point turn and be back on your way. _The Sandpiper_ was 60 feet of boat on a 15 foot wide river.

He laughed a little to disguise the fact that he’d forgotten all about that, “Aye Aye!”

Feeling more confident than he did this morning, Matthias flicked the button to activate the battery and waited until the green ignition light came on, then turned the key to start the engine just as Lukas had shown him. But _unlike_ this morning the engine roared and choked and Matthias watched as the needle on the RPM gauge went crazy. He looked at Lukas who was just as puzzled, then tried again. The same thing happened and the engine chugged and chugged but didn’t start.

Matthias stepped aside while Lukas bent down and hooked his finger in the latch to open up the door to the engine bay only for a plume of smoke and fumes to rise up as soon as he even cracked it open.

“Jesus,” he muttered as he waited for the smoke to clear a little before opening the hatch fully. The two of them stared down at the engine and soon they could feel the heat radiating from it.

Lukas shook his head and stamped his foot angrily, “I thought this might happen and yet I still let you bring her out. What an idiot.”

Blinking between the blackened engine and Lukas’s irritated expression; Matthias placed a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong? Is it bad?” he asked gingerly and Lukas blew out a breath causing his bangs to fly up a little.

“It’s fixable, but not while it’s overheated like that. It’s been festering in its own heat and smoke the whole time we were having a picnic without a care in the world.”

Letting his hand slide from Lukas’s shoulder, Matthias fidgeted awkwardly beside him for a moment before he grinned and tapped Lukas’s arm to get him to look at him,

“Hey, at least I brought my entire house with us, huh?” he said, and Lukas rolled his eyes.

“You’re such an idiot.”

* * *

Not long after they had discovered that _The Sandpiper_ wasn’t going anywhere any time soon with its engine in the state it was Matthias had called Manon to see if she could come and tow them back to Mytholm, but the lock they had gone through earlier closed for the evening at 6pm, and by the time Manon had made it up the river even at a fast pace it she would have missed it. While Matthias was on the phone, Lukas had gone for a walk to try and see if he could see any other narrowboats that he could convince to tow them back home. The sun was setting by the time he came back, and Matthias had already started preparing dinner for them. Lukas fretted about Freyr while they ate, and Matthias assured him that as soon as the locks opened again tomorrow at 7am Manon would be there and waiting to tow them back to Mytholm and that he wouldn’t have been on his own for even 12 hours. Matthias found it a little amusing that the person out of the pair of them that was used to cruising the waterways was the one anxious about them being stranded the most while he could have happily spent the weekend here with Lukas for company.

After dinner though Lukas seemed to have calmed down a little and he helped Matthias wash the dishes before Matthias went to have a quick shower. As _The Sandpiper_ was away from its residential mooring, it wasn’t connected to any of the services that it was usually hooked up to such as waste water collection and so he was only in the shower for less than five minutes as to not fill up the small waste tank too quickly or deplete water the storage. 

It was nearly dark now, and Lukas was up on the roof with a torch and a book that he’d borrowed from Matthias’s small collection of personal favourites. He glanced up from his book for a moment when he heard Matthias emerge from below deck without raising his head, but then it snapped up when Matthias put what he was holding down onto the roof first before hoisting himself up to join Lukas.

“A blanket and an acoustic guitar? Seriously?” Matthias heard Lukas mutter as he raised an eyebrow and snapped the book shut.

“What? I thought I’d entertain ya for a while!” Matthiaa said as he scooted along the roof.

He was regretting changing into fresh clothes after his shower as the roof of _The Sandpiper_ was filthy, and soon his cotton shorts were soiled with years’ worth of dirt and grime. Unlike Lukas, Matthias had never really considered using the roof of the boat as a hangout space and so he’d never even thought to clean it at any point. Maybe from now on he would.

“I brought beer too.” He added triumphantly as he unwrapped four glass bottles from where he’d swaddled them in the blanket.

Opening one each for them using the edge of the boat as a makeshift bottle opener, he passed one to Lukas who still took it despite the look he gave Matthias and they clinked them together in cheers. Then, as Lukas slowly began to pull the blanket around his shoulders almost as if he didn’t want Matthias to notice that he was grateful for it, Matthias took the guitar and crossed his legs, positioning it in his lap and strumming a couple of cords. He caught Lukas looking at him sceptically as he did so, and his grin widened,

“Got any requests?” he asked, enjoying how doubtful Lukas seemed about the fact that he could actually play the guitar. He wasn’t a musician by any means, but he had a relatively good voice and could hold a tune at the very least. Plus, it was nice to have someone to play for.

Lukas sighed, taking a lazy swig from his beer as he pretended to think,

“I dunno, wonderwall?” he said sarcastically, though his mouth displayed that playful smirk that Matthias had grown to love.

Matthias scoffed and shook his head, “I can do better than that.”

He took in a breath and began to strum out a random tune to get his fingers warmed up and used to the strings. Then, he stopped strumming for a moment and took a large sip of beer then set the bottle to the side and placed his hands back on the strings and cleared his throat, feeling brave.

" _Længe har jeg båret på, en sang om en kvinde,"_ he began singing softly as he looked down at his hands as they found their way over the strings and over the fret, " _Jeg har ledt efter dine ord, men de var så svære at finde_ ,"

After a couple more lines of the song left his mouth, he dared to look up and expected Lukas to still have that smirk on his face, but instead Matthias was shocked at Lukas’s expression that his hand slipped between cords and a he played a bum note before correcting himself. Lukas’s eyes were wide and his face a picture of awe as he stared at Matthias, the blanket now fully wrapped around him as he clasped it closed with one hand in front of his chest. Now filled with more confidence at Lukas’s reaction, Matthias began to strum a little louder and sing with added passion as the Danish lyrics rolled so naturally off his tongue. When he got to the chorus, Matthias watched as Lukas’s other hand slid out from beneath the blanket and came to rest on the front of the guitar to feel the vibrations of the instrument as he played it and he closed his eyes. Matthias felt his skin prickle a little with pride at such a simple action, and the way Lukas’s eyes happily fluttered closed made his heart beat a little faster in his chest.

He was finding his rhythm now as he was half way through the song and his fingers began to throb from pressing over the strings. Matthias then closed his own eyes for a moment as he got to the second chorus before they flew open again when he felt something against his chest. When looked at Lukas he saw that the blanket had now fallen around them and Lukas had one hand still on the guitar, the other gingerly resting just below where Matthias's collarbone met in the middle of his chest, eyes still closed and a genuine smile on his lips.

Now determined to finish the song the best that he could, Matthias nodded his head a little as he concentrated on the bridge and brought the song to a close. He could feel his own voice reverberating against his chest through Lukas’s hand and felt honoured that Lukas felt comfortable enough around him that he could enjoy his song and his music in his own way. Despite this though, he also felt a little bad that he hadn't thought about the fact that Lukas might not be able to hear his music all that well through his hearing aids, hence him using his hands to feel the vibrations of the guitar and his voice.

As Matthias strummed over the last note and let it die away on the strings, Lukas opened his eyes and began to take his hand away from Matthias’s chest. Though before he could, Matthias tentatively brought his own hand up to cup Lukas’s cheek causing Lukas's hand to freeze a few inches from his chest and his breath to hitch a little in his throat.

“Is this okay?” Matthias whispered, and when Lukas nodded he tilted his head a little and brought their lips together. Their kiss was brief as Matthias broke it for a moment to slide the guitar from his lap before Lukas’s hand moved away from his chest and instead slid round to the back of his neck. He leaned forward and brought Matthias in for another kiss, and Matthias felt as though he was melting against the softness of Lukas’s lips. The kiss lingered for a few magical moments, soft and chaste before Matthias pulled away first, pressing his forehead against Lukas’s and searching his eyes.

Matthias felt his heart hammering inside his chest, his feelings for Lukas that he hadn't realised that he was trying to surpress bubbling up and churning in his stomach.

“I agree, that _was_ better than wonderwall.” Lukas said softly and Matthias let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and dropped his face into the crook of Lukas’s neck, unable to hide his giddy grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you it was cheesy.
> 
> The song that Matthias sung: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgTdiVhZaqA
> 
> I feel like he would have a nice singing voice.
> 
> EDIT 25/07/2020: Please check out this wonderful art by Tolyys on DeviantART inspired by the final scene in this chapter! It's so stunning and I'm absolutely over the moon!
> 
> https://www.deviantart.com/tolyys/art/Kalder-Mig-Hjem-APH-DenNor-849827810?ga_submit_new=10%3A1595652339
> 
> Thanks for reading! x


	6. Chapter Six – Ljósálfar

**Chapter Six – Ljósálfar**

Matthias stood on the tow path, watching as Manon and _Willow_ appeared as just a small speck in the distance on the canal. It was nearly 7:30am, and the low morning sun was filtering through the trees that were filled with birdsong on either side of the river, casting shadows across the surface of the water. He stood barefoot, a glass of orange juice in his hand, dressed in the same clothes as last night with the dirty marks still on his shorts from sitting on the roof with Lukas. 

Lukas was still asleep in his bed, and Matthias hadn't dared to go into his bedroom to get a fresh change of clothes from his wardrobe in case he disturbed him. He'd slept on the couch, insisting that Lukas take the bed after they finally came down from the roof and settled below deck last night when the gnats had appeared, making their skin itch and the sun had set.

After their kiss it had been a little awkward, neither of them really knowing what to say or do until Lukas draped the discarded blanket back around his shoulders and asked Matthias about when and how he'd learned to play guitar. For the rest of the night Lukas kept asking questions until they went to bed, keeping Matthias talking about everything and anything but their now obvious feelings for each other. 

Taking a sip of his juice, Matthias sighed a little as he felt the sun starting to warm his back and couldn't help but wonder if Lukas was regretting kissing him. It had happened so fast, and he couldn't ignore the slight sinking feeling in his chest that it was too much too soon. Despite being a bold and extroverted person, Matthias couldn't remember the last time he'd kissed someone so suddenly. Sure, he’d dated plenty of people and had a couple of flings, but none quite like Lukas.

Though despite his uncertainty, he couldn't forget how Lukas had looked at him after they pulled away, nor the feeling of his steady hand on his chest that had slowly moved to slip through his hair, touching him with such tenderness, yet still so sure.

The thrum of Manon's boat engine could now be heard as she neared; cutting though the still river and Matthias gulped down the last of his juice and set the glass down on the roof of The Sandpiper, thankful for the distraction from his own thoughts. 

"Matthias Densen, you're in big trouble!" Manon called over the noise of the engine, grinning as she wagged her finger at him as though scolding him. She had he hair tied back with a green ribbon, her outfit of a t-shirt and dungarees completed by a pair of pink bunny slippers, clearly taking advantage of the fact that she was still technically at home while stood on the foredeck of _Willow_.

She guided _Willow_ up against the bank and tossed her tow rope to Matthias as she killed the engine and he tied it to the mooring post over the top of _The Sandpiper’s_ rope.

“Why, what have I done this time?” he said as he held out his hand toward her. She took it used Matthias for balance as she and stepped from _Willow_ and onto the tow path beside him, her slippers disappearing beneath the tall grass on the overgrown bank.

“What have you _done_ you ask?” she pressed the back of her palm against her forehead dramatically, “I’ve had every dog walker and old lady in the village knock on my door and ask where you were when they noticed that your boat was gone! How dare you leave your mooring for the first time in 7 years and make half the village fret that their favourite, handsome postman had taken off!” she cried, though she couldn’t hide her amused expression.

Matthias laughed and ran a hand through his hair. As sweet as they were, a couple of the elderly ladies in the village seemed to notice every move that ‘young Matthias’ – as they called him - made, and would have been the first to notice that _The Sandpiper_ had gone from its mooring.

“What possessed you to take her out anyway? And how on earth did you get her started?” Manon continued, as she followed Matthias over _The Sandpiper_ and watched as he hopped aboard and lifted the hatch to reveal the engine below. 

“Lukas. He just has so much knowledge about narrowboats, and he even gave me some diesel. He’s a cool guy! I couldn’t believe that he got her going!” He beamed, peering down at the engine, feeling pride well up at the sight of it as though he were looking at the heart of his boat.

“You mean _Skidbladnir_ Lukas? I didn’t realise you two were so friendly. So I really have been replaced as favourite neighbour!” Manon huffed, crossing her arms across her chest and leaning against the side of _The Sandpiper_.

“Well, we’re a bit more than friendly now,” Matthias said, biting his lip a little anxiously, then nodded his head toward the door. “He’s below deck.”

It took Manon a second to realise what Matthias meant, and when she did her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

“Matthias! Oh my god, details, now! _”_ she demanded, and Matthias shushed her as she raised her voice a little.

“Nothin’ too crazy!” he said as held his hands up in his defence before closing the engine hatch and joining Manon again on the tow path, “We just kissed, that’s all.”

Now all of a sudden flustered thinking about it, Matthias felt his cheeks burning as Manon stood before him looking incredibly shocked yet entertained.

“ _We just kissed_.” She rolled her eyes and deepened her voice to mimic him, and Matthias quickly filled her in from when Lukas came over to help fix the engine, to them mooring up and having lunch, to them sat on the roof. Manon listened, nodding along and smiling as he spoke, and when he’d finished she poked him in the arm lightly.

“Well well, you’re quite the charmer! I didn’t expect to cruise all the way up here at 7 in the morning to find that my neighbours had eloped together.” She said, and though Matthias knew that she wasn’t really mocking, he couldn’t help but feel the uncertainty he’d felt earlier creep back up on him. Manon must’ve picked up on it as the grin faded from her lips and instead she smiled genuinely.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to tease you, I’m just surprised. Pleasantly surprised.” She said, her hand moving to squeeze his shoulder as she added the last part, “But enough about that, I won’t pry any more. Let’s get you home shall we?”

By the time Matthias and Manon has worked out how to tie _The Sandpiper_ to _Willow_ they realised that Manon was facing in the wrong direction to tow them back to Mytholm. The pair of them laughed in spite of themselves then spent another half an hour begrudgingly untying all of the tow ropes. Manon set off again in the direction of the lock further up the canal so that she could turn around and come back, and Matthias promised her a cooked breakfast that would be ready when she came back as a thank you for the added task to her rescue mission.

Humming a cheerful tune to himself as he went below deck and closed the doors behind him, Matthias walked round the tiny island unit that separated the galley from the saloon. Glancing at the time on the coffee machine before he bent down to gather ingredients for breakfast from the small refrigerator he noticed it was 8:40 now, and there was still no sign of Lukas.

Cracking some eggs into a bowl, Matthias set to work and beat them with a whisk before adding milk and flour for pancake batter. Then he turned on the gas cooker and laid out some sausages and bacon on some foil on an oven tray, all the while looking over at his bedroom door every few minutes. When the tray was in the oven and the smell of bacon began to fill the boat, Matthias took out three plates, setting two on the tiny dining table and one on the counter. He only had two dining chairs, and so he would let his guests sit at the table while he would eat from his lap on the sofa. Just as he was walking back over to start pouring the pancake batter into a griddle pan he heard the door to his room open and Lukas stepped out, no doubt roused by the smell of breakfast.

His hair was tousled and messy from his sleep which only accentuated his curls, and he too had gotten dressed back into yesterday’s clothes.

“Mornin’! Didja sleep alright?” Matthias asked, his voice chipper, as Lukas softly crossed through the saloon.

“Yeah I did, thanks.” Lukas nodded, then fidgeted a little on the spot, “can I get a glass of water?”

His voice was small, a little quieter than usual, but Matthias still smiled with his usual enthusiasm,

“Sure, the glasses are in that cupboard,” he said, nodding with his head toward the small cupboard in the far corner of the galley. As Lukas slipped past him to grab a glass and fill it up from the tap, Matthias poured the batter into the pan and almost right away the sweet savoury smell wafted around him as the pancake came into contact with the hot metal. Lukas went over to the table and sat down gingerly, sipping on his glass of water and cast his gaze out of the window, looking out over the river.

The air between them was a little awkward, and Matthias found himself glancing between Lukas and the pancakes trying to think of something to say. In the end, he unable to take it anymore, he sighed and spun around on the spot.

“Look, about last night. I’m really sorry, I shouldn’t have kissed ya,” he began, and Lukas turned to look at him, meeting his eye for the first time since he’d got up. Matthias waited for Lukas to say something as he took another sip of water, and the seconds that passed were agonising.

He put the glass down on the table and leant an arm lazily beside it, dropping his head into it so his cheek rested in his palm.

“Don’t be sorry, it’s not like I didn’t kiss you back.” He said, though he stopped talking a little abruptly, and Matthias couldn’t help but feel like he wanted to add something else. But as ever, Lukas didn’t elaborate and instead pursed his lips thinly together. 

Though they weren’t exactly the words that Matthias wanted to hear, they still caused a feeling of relief to prickle through his chest. At least Lukas didn’t regret it, or at least hadn’t said so. Matthias wanted to say more on the subject, but looking at Lukas’s slightly strained expression he took the hint that he wanted to drop the subject. He turned his attention back to cooking breakfast and sighed in frustration as he flipped the pancake to find that he’d taken his eye off it for too long and it was burnt on one side.

Loudly stamping his foot to open the pedal bin, Matthias tossed the pancake in and let the lid slam closed before pouring another ladle of batter into the pan and starting again.

Silence fell across _The Sandpiper_ for a few minutes, only broken by the sputtering of the pancake in the pan. Matthias kept his gaze on the pancake this time and tossed it just as it was starting to catch the perfect brown colour this time as he felt Lukas move to stand beside him.

“Do you need any help?” he asked, hovering over his shoulder and peering into the pan.

Matthias could tell that Lukas either felt a little awkward or in the way, and so although he didn’t really need any help he asked Lukas to whip up some more eggs to make an omelette just to give him something to do.

Just as Lukas cracked a couple of eggs into a bowl and discarded the shells, the doors opened and Manon bounced down the three steps leading down from the foredeck. She stopped and caught Lukas’s eye as they stood on either side of the kitchen island.

“Hello!” she greeted him with a wide smile, and Lukas replied with a shy “Hi,” before returning his attention back to whisking the eggs. Their obvious lack of things to say to each other was slightly uncomfortable, and Manon just stood watching both Lukas and Matthias prepare breakfast in the galley for a moment before she went and took a seat at the table.

“Mmm, the food smells great.” She said, clasping her hand together in front of her as Matthias took the tray of sausage and bacon from the oven and brought it over to the plates he’d set out, dividing the food equally between them. Lukas made the omelette while Matthias finished off the pancakes, both working well together in the small kitchen space as they were both used to how cramped living on a narrowboat could be. Manon watched them, and gave Matthias a small thumbs up when she caught his eye.

When breakfast was served, Lukas and Manon sat across from one another at the table and Matthias took a seat on the edge of the couch. They ate in pleasant silence at first, then once they’d eaten a comfortable amount of food Manon spoke up.

“The canal has been so quiet the past couple of days, huh? It only took me 40 minutes to get to the lock and back.” She said between mouthfuls, “I guess we should make the most of it before it gets crazy busy in summer!”

Matthias nodded enthusiastically in agreement as he shovelled a large piece of pancake into his mouth.

“Thanks again for coming to tow us back home, Manon,” he said, and meant it, once he’d swallowed it, then washed it down with his coffee.

Manon smiled and looked between Lukas and Matthias before down at her plate as she cut up her sausages,

“There’s not much I won’t do for my _favourite neighbour_.”

Manon glanced at Matthias, her voice filled with playful sarcasm and he just stuck his tongue out at her.

“You’re like a Valkyrie coming to our rescue, except you’re bringing us back to Mytholmroyd and not Valhalla. And you’re not choosing whether we live or die either.” Lukas said absentmindedly as he pushed a piece of pancake around his plate, and Manon looked confused.

“What’s a Valkyrie?” she asked, sitting back in her chair.

“They’re maidens who were sent by Odin to retrieve those worthy of Valhalla and bring them back there.” Lukas said as though it were obvious, looking to Matthias as Manon half suppressed a laugh, not sure if he was being serious or not.

“What about me, Lu? What would I be?” Matthias asked eagerly, part of him genuinely curious about the answer while the other part of him just wanted to humour Lukas and not make him feel bad that Manon had laughed when Matthias knew he took this mythology stuff seriously.

Lukas didn’t seem to even have to think about the answer, “A Ljósálfar.” He said, setting his knife and fork together on his plate. Noticing that both Lukas and Manon had finished eating, Matthias stood and began to gather their plates.

“What’s that? Some cool god or something?” Matthias said with a cocky grin as he scraped the leftovers into the bin and put the plates in the sink.

“No, it’s an elf.” Lukas said, and Manon laughed as she stood up from the table, pushing her chair underneath it and brushing a couple of crumbs from her top.

“Bud, I’m 6 foot tall I can’t be an elf!” Matthias turned to look at Lukas, who just shrugged.

“Not all elves are small.” He said simply, then took himself off back to Matthias’s bedroom.

Matthias couldn’t help but feel endeared by Lukas’s whimsiness, and was glad to have a friend in him, even if that’s all they would end up as. Manon however clearly didn't know what to make of Lukas as she stared after him as he disappeared into the bedroom. She was one of the nicest people Matthias had ever met, and not the type to judge, but Matthias could tell that she thought Lukas was strange along with the rest of the village. 

\-------

It was nearly 1pm by the time the Mytholm moorings came into view, and Matthias was surprised that _Willow_ had managed to successfully tow _The Sandpiper_ without any problems. They had travelled at a snail’s pace of 10 miles an hour the whole journey however as to not put too much strain on the engine that was ploughing forward, driving twice the amount of boat than it was used to, but apart from that all had gone well and Matthias was beyond thankful to Manon.

Lukas and Matthias were sat on the roof among the colourful boxes and pots full of flowers that Manon decorated it with, their wonderful scent surrounding them as the breeze blew past them as she navigated _Willow_ through the waterway. Matthias was sure that there wasn’t anything that compared to the feeling of a river breeze blowing through his hair the same way it rustled the trees as he cruised the cut, and he didn’t miss the content expression on Lukas’s face that only softened even more when his eyes fell upon _Skidbladnir,_ currently solitary on the moorings, it’s black, shiny paint reflecting the sun.

It was difficult getting _The Sandpiper_ back into her mooring once they’d reached it without being able to guide her in with the engine power, and Lukas and Matthias ended up having to jump across to the tow path and pull the boat up against the bank to straighten her up as Manon tried her best to moor _Willow._ They pulled hard on the tow rope, and eventually between them they successfully moored up, earning a round of applause from a group of people sat watching the whole thing from the beer garden that looked out onto the canal. Matthias turned to them and bowed, his face flushed red from the effort.

“Well, that was fun!” He said, beaming as he faced Lukas, who wiped a thin layer of sweat that was sticking his hair to his forehead away with his sleeve.

“If getting stranded out on your old boat then having to drag it back home is your idea of fun then I’m not sure that we can hang out anymore,” Lukas smirked, and Matthias couldn’t help but notice how much more comfortable he seemed now that they were back in Mytholm.

Manon leapt onto the towpath and tied _Willow_ to the mooring post beside Matthias.

“As riveting as that was, I should be getting to work. My shift starts soon.” She said, and Matthias brought her into a huge bear hug.

“Thank you, thank you, _thank you_ for saving my ass. I owe you one, big time.” he mumbled to her as he released her from his embrace, and she grinned.

“I know you do, and trust me I’ll let you know how you can repay me in good time.”

She waved to Lukas and said her goodbyes before she set off down the tow path toward the village.

By the time Matthias had turned back to Lukas, he was already aboard _Skidbladnir_ and unlocking the doors. When he opened them, Matthias watched as Freyr came dashing out, meowing in circles around Lukas legs, seemingly not the slightest bit bothered by the fact that he was stood on the deck of a boat just inches from the water. Lukas bent down to pick him up, burying his face in his fur.

“Yes I know, I know. Quite the tale I have to tell you, mm-hmm,” Mathias heard Lukas mumbling to Freyr as he wandered over, and Lukas looked up at him once he reached the edge of the towpath, his blue eyes peering through the white fur.

“I’d better go in and feed him…” Lukas said, taking a step back on the deck and putting Freyr down who dashed back inside _Skidbladnir._

“Yeah, don’t keep him waiting! He’s probably skin and bone by now!” Matthias laughed, knowing how dramatic cats could be about being fed, and Lukas cracked that crooked smile and Matthias realised that he was quickly falling for.

“Ah yes, we’ve been gone for weeks in his mind and he’s probably resorted to eating the couch cushions.” Lukas said with an eye roll, then hesitated a little as he started down one of the steps leading below deck.

“Thank you for yesterday. I… had a great time. Maybe next time we should leave _The Sandpiper_ moored up though.”

His hair fell across his face a little, and he brought his hand up to tuck to behind his ear.

Matthias fiddled with the hem of his shirt and cast his eye to the ground for a moment,

“Hah, yeah. I think she’s had enough adventure for now. And it’s you I should be thanking! For the diesel and for getting _The Sandpiper_ going, even if it was only for a while. You, uh, know where I am if you want to hang out some more.” Matthias tried to sound casual as he looked up again and caught Lukas's eye, but knew full well that it probably didn’t come across that way. He'd hoped that Lukas might invite him on board while he saw to Freyr so they could at least talk about last night, but he hadn't, and Matthias thought it was best not to press the topic even though he was aching to.

"Okay. Well, I'll see you then." Lukas said simply and gave one last smile before he turned and headed down below deck, closing the doors to _Skidbladnir_ gently behind him. 

Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Matthias exhaled sharply as he stepped widely across the gap at the riverbank and onto _The Sandpiper._ He ignored the washing up that was piled up in the galley for now, wanting nothing more than a nice warm shower and some fresh clothes to help clear his thoughts. Pushing the door open to his bedroom, he smiled upon noticing that Lukas had neatly made the bed, though he’d put one of the pillows back upside down. Crossing the room to quickly fix it, Matthias spotted a scrap of paper on his nightstand with a sketch on it as he reached to grab the pillow.

Picking it up, upon further inspection, he saw that it was a receipt from the dry cleaners from when he’d dropped his work uniform off earlier in the week, yet on the back of it in black biro pen was a drawing; unmistakably of him. Sinking down onto the bed, he studied it, amazed at the likeness. Lukas had drawn his profile perfectly, from his sharp nose to his messy hair, even capturing his freckles. For such a small drawing and rough sketch there was so much detail, and in the bottom corner was also a sketch of a heron. Lukas had drawn Matthias as he saw him yesterday watching the heron as they had their picnic.

Matthias couldn’t stop himself from smiling wildly as he looked at the sketch. Then as he moved his thumb, he saw that something was written as well.

“Ljosalfar…” he read the word out to himself, then realised that was what Lukas had compared him to at breakfast, the elf thing.

Putting the little sketch back down on the bedside table, Matthias pulled his phone out and typed the word into google and tapped on the first result that came up.

**_‘_ ** _Ljósálfar_ _m pl. (Norse mythology) Meaning the "light elves", the elves who dwell in the heavens. The earliest known written description of them comes from Snorri Sturluson, an Icelandic Poet who lived in the 12th Century AD. He wrote that ‘there was a place in the sky’ where they lived and that they were ‘brighter than the sun in appearance.’_

Matthias read the sentence over and over again before flopping back onto the bed, letting his phone fall beside him. The subtly of revealing his feelings this way was so incredibly like Lukas that Matthias wasn't sure if he'd left the sketch here by accident or if he had meant for Matthias to see if. Either way, his heart felt like it could burst.

“He thinks I’m brighter than the sun.” Matthias whispered to himself, feeling like a giddy teenager, then cast his gaze out of the window, watching as the smoke began to rise from the chimney of _Skidbladnir_ getting thinner and thinner as the breeze carried it away. He had officially fallen head over heels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slow little chapter for you, hopefully it's alright! I'm sorry if it's very dialogue heavy, I did struggle with this chapter a bit and definitely wrote the first couple too fast and ended up burning myself out :')
> 
> But I still love writing this fic, and thank you _so much_ to everyone who's commented and left a kudos, honestly you guys make me so unbelievably happy.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading as always, and I'll see you next chapter!
> 
> -lumassen x


	7. Chapter Seven - The Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, there might be typos and errors but I'll fix them in the morning I promise :') I'm too chaotic to proof read when I finish a chapter

**Chapter Seven – The Letter**

When Matthias stepped out onto the towpath on Monday morning, _Skidbladnir_ was gone. Just like how Lukas had silently appeared in Mytholm the first time, Matthias hadn't heard a sound in the night, not even the chugging of the engine. But sure enough, mooring number 3 was empty, and the flattened patch of grass against the side of the river where Lukas repeatedly stepped on and off his boat was the only tell-tale sign that _Skidbladnir_ had ever been there at all. 

It was 5am. The low light of dawn breaking was slowly crawling along the river and Matthias just stared bleary eyed at the empty mooring spot, his brows furrowed. He couldn't help but feel a little irritated with himself not only for catching feelings for Lukas as quickly as he had done and allowing himself to act on them, but also for the fact that it was bothering him so much that Lukas had left in the night and he didn't know where to or why as if he had a right to when it was none of his business.

Yesterday afternoon after he'd quickly reconnected _The Sandpiper_ to the mains water and electricity supply provided on his mooring and freshened up, he'd walked to the dry cleaners with a spring in his step, clutching the receipt with Lukas's drawing on the back. Annie, the kind lady who owned the launderette, hadn't noticed the drawing on the underside and had been a little confused when she came out from the back room with Matthias's uniform and was about to discard the receipt when Matthias leaned over the counter and frantically asked for it back. It was just a random little doodle on a scrappy bit of paper, but for some reason meant the world to Matthias and he'd tucked it away at the bottom of his sock drawer for safe keeping. 

Stifling a yawn, Matthias shook his head as he turned away from the moorings and set off along the tow path. He knew that he was crushing hard for Lukas, and needed to stop, not liking how much he was letting this man who he didn't really know that much about be the main occupier of his thoughts.

On Monday's Matthias worked a long 12 hour shift from 5:30am until 5:30pm to make up for the fact that there was a larger amount of mail to be delivered as a result of there being no post at the weekends in Mytholm. It was a tiring day, and he didn't want to spend the entirety of it moping around, so he straightened up, took in a deep breath and focused on the birds, the flowers, and the cloudless sky as he walked to work. 

He was always the first person on shift at the post office, and his little red van was always waiting for him already full of the post that he needed to deliver that Dylan or Alice had sorted for him the day before. He arrived a little earlier than usual this morning and so instead of getting straight into his van and beginning his rounds, Matthias unlocked the door and let himself into the post office to set a timer on the coffee machine in the staff room so that it would be ready in time when he got back for his first break at 9am.

With the coffee machine set, he whistled a tune to himself in an attempt to shake his bad mood as he unlocked the van and got in. Now that Matthias had been at the helm of _The Sandpiper_ and cruised her down the river, driving his van again felt a little strange as he reversed out of the post office and straightened up to head out along the main road. He flashed the headlights of his van in response to a couple of the early morning dog walkers who waved to him as he passed them, and couldn't help but feel a little cheered up by them.

In a strange way, Matthias was the equivalent of a small town celebrity in the fact that everyone knew of him. He'd watched kids grow up as he delivered birthday cards sent by relatives to them every year, been the first to greet new couples that moved here to settle down and sadly been one of the first to know if an elderly resident of Mytholmroyd had passed away when they stopped getting letters or their house was for sale and a stop put on their mail. Everyone knew Matthias's story, and he knew theirs. Except one. 

*

By the time his break time came around Matthias already felt tired. His van was empty after successfully delivering the first lot of post to the southernmost part of the village, but he still had much more to do. Arriving back at the post office he got out of the van and jogged up the few steps to the back door, this time greeted by Dylan and Alice who were sat at the little table in the staffroom. 

"Morning mate," Dylan said to him, looking up from his phone, as he entered the room, and Alice gave him a small smile. Their shift started at 9am, but it was still a couple of minutes to the hour. 

"Mornin', good weekend?" Matthias replied as he took his mug from the draining board by the sink and went to pour himself a coffee, but frowned when he picked up the pot from the machine.

"Did you guys drink my coffee?" he said before they could answer his previous question and spun around on the spot, leaning the small of his back against the counter and waved the empty coffee pot at Alice and Dylan. They didn't even need to answer him as Matthias could tell by the way that Dylan sheepishly brought his mug away from his lips and pursed them, his eyes wide, that they had.

Slamming the coffee pot down on the side, Matthias threw his hands up in the air, 

"I'm the one workin' a 12 hour shift here! You coulda at least left me enough for _one_ cup!" He pushed himself away from the counter and stalked out of the staff room. He had some sachets of instant coffee in his locker that would have to do.

Trudging into the main office, he fiddled with the code on his locker before throwing it open and rummaging around for the instant coffee. When he found it, Matthias closed the locker and was just about to walk back through to the staff room, eyes cast down whilst reading the back of the packet, when he collided with Maggie as she was arriving for her shift.

"Ah! Mags, I'm sorry! I didn't see ya, are you okay?" 

He spluttered as he stepped back to let her enter the room and tossed the sachet of coffee down onto the desk, but luckily Maggie had held onto the doorframe to stop herself from stumbling when he bumped into her. She just laughed a little, a hand over her heart as she set her handbag down then took her coat off, draping it over the back of her chair. 

"I'm fine lovie, you just gave me a little bit of a shock is all." She smiled as she sat down and slid her glasses onto her face from where they hung on the chain around her neck. When she looked over at Matthias, her eyes magnified a little through the thick lenses, her already wrinkled brow creased a little.

"Why the long face? Something wrong, pet?" She asked gently, and Matthias sighed in exasperation, though it was in spite of himself for allowing himself to mope around.

He hesitated, biting his bottom lip for a moment and glancing at the clock on the wall conscious of the fact he only had a 15 minute break, before he crossed the room and perched himself on the end of Maggie's desk, his hands laced in his lap and shoulders slumped.

"I think I've done something stupid Mags, and I've upset someone. Or at least, made them feel awkward." He mumbled, casting his eyes to the thin, threadbare carpet of the mail office.

He could feel Maggie looking at him, and she tapped him lightly on the knee as he swung his leg a little over the edge of the desk. 

“I don’t doubt for one moment that you would upset someone on purpose, Matthias.”

Matthias caught her gaze and smiled weakly. Mags always saw the best in people.

“I didn’t do it on purpose, but I’m not sure how to fix it or what to even say.” Matthias said, feeling defeated, then shifted a little on the desk so he was fully facing Maggie as she took her glasses off again, letting them drop on their chain. The she sat forward to show that she was listening and Matthias took in a deep breath through his nose.

He started from the beginning, when Lukas first took him up the river on his birthday. Then to when he’d invited him over to share his chinese food, to offering to fix _The Sandpiper_ and then finally, the kiss and how the air had suddenly changed between them the following day. He was rambling, and he knew it, as he started describing the drawing and the whole Ljósálfar thing and their slightly awkward part yesterday; but Maggie was following along well enough as she asked questions here and there. To Matthias, it felt good to try to explain how he was feeling to someone else, and in a way helped him get it straight in his own head.

When he’d finished there was a small silence as Maggie sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest and sighed.

“Well, I know times are different now than to when I met Harold, but I think you need to trust your heart. Give it time and see what happens.” She said, and Matthias slid down from the desk and stood looking down at Mags as she smiled at him.

“D’you think I read too much into it all? Is he too much of a nice person to tell me that he doesn’t like me back? What if he doesn’t want to stay in Mytholm now?” Matthias pressed as he walked round the desk to pick up the coffee sachets again, fiddling with them in his hands as he waited for Maggie to speak again as if she held the definitive answers to his questions.

She shook her head, “You’re overthinking it, sweetheart.” She said, then winced a little as she stood up and held her hand over her hip, “I don’t think that you woke up this morning to find his boat gone because of you. Mr Thomassen is a free spirit, as you explained yourself, and I’m sure he has other reasons for cruising away from Mytholm or however it is that you boaters say it when you go out on the river.”

Matthias exhaled and ran his hand through his hair. He knew that Maggie was right, but he couldn’t help but feel like he’d been in a bubble the past two weeks, and something had changed suddenly causing the bubble to burst.

“Right, I need to open up, we’re a couple of minutes late. But first, come here,” Maggie held out her arms toward Matthias and he couldn’t help but smile now as Maggie pulled him into a warm hug, squeezing him tightly before letting go again. Then, placing her hands on his shoulders she spun him around towards the door,

“Now, go and make your coffee and keep your chin up. This village needs your smile on a Monday morning more than you think.” Maggie shooed Matthias out through the door and closed it behind him. He stood in the corridor for a moment and pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes and willed himself to stop overthinking, and he would just talk to Lukas when he got back.

But by the time Friday came around, Lukas’s mooring was still empty, and Matthias found himself gazing at the empty space beside _The Sandpiper_ over Dylan’s shoulder as they sat in the beer garden overlooking the riverbank.

The week had dragged by, and every morning the first thing Matthias had done when he woke up was pull back the nets in the hopes that he would see _Skidbladnir_ back where it belonged outside his bedroom window, but by now he’d pretty much given up hope. Yesterday evening when the mail delivery came in from the depot, Alice had brought a couple of letters in for Matthias addressed to the PO box that he, Manon and Lukas shared. He’d thumbed through them quickly, not really expecting anything for Lukas as the only mail he’d gotten since moving to Mytholm was the urgent letter that turned out to be a birthday card, and so he was a little shocked when the thick, brown envelope addressed to Mr Thomassen was amongst the pile.

In all his years as a postman, Matthias had seen many an important document pass through the mail system, and most times he hated delivering them to their recipients after working out from what was written on the front that it wasn’t going to be a letter they probably wanted to receive; and this was no exception.

‘ _DO NOT IGNORE – Final Demand for Payment to prevent Property Foreclosure_.’ was printed in bold red letters across the front of the envelope.

Matthias also noticed that the address that the letter had been previously sent to was a house in Leeds, but the North West postal depot had Lukas’s mail re-direction on file, and so here it was in Matthias’s hands. He stared at it, and his heart sinking at the thought of having to give it to Lukas – if he ever came back.

“Hello, earth to Matthias,” Dylan snapped his fingers in front of Matthias face, and he tore his gaze away from the river.

“Sorry, I was in a world of my own there, bud.” Matthias blinked and laughed a little, and Dylan and Alice exchanged glances. In an attempt to cheer Matthias up, they had organised a trip to the pub after work. Dylan had brought his girlfriend, and Manon had joined them too. The five were a couple of drinks in, and several empty pint glasses littered the table.

“No bother, I was just wondering what you’re doing for your birthday next week,” Dylan asked, raising his drink to his lips and looking at Matthias over the rim of the glass.

“Oh, that,” Matthias said, drawing a pattern with his finger in a small puddle of split beer on the table, “My brother and his fiancé are gonna come over for a couple of days. I’m looking forward to it, it’ll be nice to see them and hang out with family.”

“But you’re staying in Mytholm for it? I know you love this village, but I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever seen you leave.” Alice said, and the company of the table laughed in agreement, teasing Matthias that he was becoming an old man already and that he was turning 68 next Friday, not 28.

“I just like it here, okay?” Matthias cried, slamming his pint glass down on the table in mock anger, “So what if I’m content living life in the slow lane? I don’t see you lot moving away anytime soon!”

“We were born here. You voluntarily moved here! There’s a difference!” Dylan’s girlfriend, Jessica, said and Matthias rolled his eyes, though couldn’t help but smile.

“All the more reason for me to stick around then, why try to get away from a place that I chose to move to?” Matthias downed the last of his pint and moved onto his next one, sipping the foam from the top.

Then, he slumped on the table and propped his cheek in the palm of his hand to listen to Manon’s funny story about a customer she’d served in the bar she worked in last weekend when his ears pricked up at the sound of a narrowboat engine. Sitting up so quickly that some of his beer spilled over the top of the glass; he craned his neck to look over to the canal. Dylan and Jessica turned to look over their shoulder to see what he was looking at as Matthias stood up, excusing himself from the table and ignoring the demands from Manon and Alice to sit his ass back down.

Sure enough, it was Lukas, and he was just mooring up against the riverbank when Matthias jogged carefully down the small grass verge leading from the beer garden to the towpath, trying not to stumble as he was a little tipsy by now.

Whether Lukas simply hadn’t noticed him or if he was ignoring him, Matthias wasn’t sure, but he hoped that it was the former as he just stood and watched him for a moment as he edged _Skidbladnir_ closer and closer to the edge of the towpath, the water churning beneath the boat as the engine chugged away. Lukas’s hair was tied back from his face, and a light shadow of stubble had grown across his jaw from where he obviously hadn’t shaved in the past 5 days. Had it not been for his unmistakable boat then Matthias might not have recognised him at first, especially in the low evening light as the sun sunk lower and lower behind the trees.

He waited until Lukas killed the engine and stepped off _Skidbladnir_ to tie it to the mooring post before he gingerly stepped forward.

“Hey Lukas,” Matthias said, stepping closer to him as he secured the rope before standing up, looking startled when he lifted his gaze and met Matthias’s. He looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes, and Matthias could see as a result of his hair being tied back that Lukas didn’t have his hearing aids in.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realise-“ he began, averting his gaze away from Lukas for a moment and gasped as his eyes landed on _Skidbladnir_.

“Lukas, your boat!” he cried, and Lukas turned to look over his shoulder and sighed.

The beautiful paintwork had been scratched and scuffed, almost as if it had been carved into or vandalised, the black paint no longer glossy and the gold lettering of the boat name was peeling a little.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Matthias pressed, taking a step forward causing Lukas to take one back. Though he knew that Lukas couldn’t hear him, he didn’t know what else to do or say, and he flapped his hands in frustration as Lukas turned back to face him.

“Matthias,” he said slowly, his mouth falling about around his words, “now isn’t really a good time. I think you should leave me alone.”

Seeing the distress on Lukas’s face made Matthias’s heart lurch, and he reached out to grasp his hand as they loosely signed while he tried his best to speak, but Lukas was too quick and pulled them out of reach and clasped them to his chest.

“Where are your hearing aids? Do you need anything? Where have you been?” Matthias fired questions that quite literally fell upon deaf ears as Lukas turned away and fumbled with the doors of his boat. Taking a couple of steps forward to try and follow him, Matthias stumbled over the mooring rope and lost his footing, only just catching himself on the side of _Skidbladnir_ but by the time he’d straightened up Lukas had disappeared inside.

“For fucks sake!” Matthias yelled, angrily kicking a stone from the towpath into the river and balling his fists in his hair. He paced the towpath for a moment and in his intoxicated haze and concern for Lukas debated climbing aboard and hammering on the doors, but luckily he was still sober enough to realise that it would only no doubt cause more harm than good.

“Why do I even care?” he muttered to no one in particular, unless the ducks asleep further up the riverbank had the answer, as he trudged toward his boat, ignoring Manon and Dylan calling over to him as they peered over the fence of the beer garden.

Taking his keys from his pocket, Matthias unlocked _The Sandpiper_ and took himself inside, kicking his shoes off and slamming the doors closed behind him so hard that the windows rattled. Part of him was relieved that Lukas was back, and he thought that knowing that _Skidbladnir_ was back on its mooring would bring him comfort but instead he only felt worse knowing that something was wrong and that Lukas was only a couple of feet away yet he couldn’t do anything. The letter addressed to Lukas was worrying enough, a sign that he was in legal trouble, but now after seeing the state of his boat and the tired look in his eyes, Matthias's stomach churned. Throwing himself down onto the couch, Matthias buried his face into the cushions, frustrated tears prickling in his eyes as he screwed them shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my brain while I was writing this chapter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-4nu4LKvwI
> 
> Sorry for the angst and sorry if this chapter was weirdly written, but I tried my best with it!
> 
> Thanks so much for all the love on this fic, honestly it makes me so happy :')
> 
> See you next chapter!
> 
> -lumassen x


	8. Chapter Eight - His Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there's typos I haven't proof read as usual but I'll fix anything in the morning lol

**Chapter Eight – His Story.**

Matthias peered over the edge of The Sandpiper and looked at his own reflection on the water as he sat with his legs dangling over the side of his boat. It was late morning and he sat with his guitar across his lap, strumming softly over a few cords as he began to finally figure out the cords to the song he'd been practicing all morning in an attempt to clear his head and to stop feeling sorry for himself.

Saturday mornings in Mytholmroyd were always quiet, but this morning had been unusually so and Matthias hadn't seen another soul since he'd brought himself up to the roof; not even a runner or a dog walker along the tow path. The sky was clear and it was starting to smell like summer, the sunshine already warming the ground, and last night it had been humid and muggy as Matthias dragged himself to bed and struggled to sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about the state of Lukas's boat and the look on his face as he’d lain in bed and stared at the low ceiling until eventually his eyes grew heavy from both tiredness and the closeness of the warm room. 

This morning he’d woken up to several messages from his friends ranging from annoyed texts from Dylan because he'd left without paying for his share of the bar tab last night, to concerned ones from Alice and Manon who'd watched him confronting Lukas before he took himself back to his boat. Matthias had replied to Dylan with nothing but a middle finger emoji, and told Alice and Manon not to worry and that he was fine.

Shifting a little on the roof, Matthias brought one leg up and crossed it beneath him then looked at his fingers as they moved across the fret board before closing his eyes. He took in a deep breath, strumming the first verse of the song as he began to sing along to the guitar lowly,

_ “I never meant the things I said to make you cry, can I say I'm sorry? It's hard to forget, and yes I regret, all these mistakes, _ ” he took another breath, looking up now across the river at the trees on the other side as he continued, 

_ “I don't know why you're leaving me, but I know you must have your reasons. There's tears in your eyes, I watch as you cry, but it's getting late _ ,” dragging out the last note, Matthias glanced over at Skidbladnir. A part of him was amazed that it was still there and that Lukas hadn’t taken off again in the night like he was so good at doing. 

Shaking his head and looking back down again at the strings as he strummed across them, Matthias straightened up a little and played his guitar harder as he got to the chorus, unable to shake thoughts of Lukas from his mind,

“ _ Was I invading in on your secrets? Was I too close for comfort? You're pushing me out, when I wanted in,” _

He was singing loudly enough now that if Manon was home she could probably hear him, but Matthias’s couldn’t bring himself to care. Even as his hands plucked the strings confidently however, he could feel his voice straining over the lump in his throat,

_ “What was I just about to discover? When I got too close for comfort, driving you home, guess I'll never know…” _

Then, just as he was transitioning from the chorus to the second verse he was interrupted and he strummed a couple of wrong notes as his concentration was broken,

“Are you sure you’re in the right job? Your talents as a postman are wasted on your singing.” Lukas teased with a shy smile as Matthias turned to see him stood on the foredeck, leaning on the roof. 

Though glad to see Lukas, Matthias wasn’t in the mood to pretend that everything was fine. He stared at him for a moment, watching as Lukas's smile faltered beneath his glare before casting his attention back out over the river. He kept his eyes focused on a moorhen on the bank, watching it to-ing and fro-ing as it built a nest, and ignored Lukas until he couldn’t anymore. After hoisting himself up and scooting along the roof, Lukas settled a little awkwardly beside Matthias and dropped his legs over the side of The Sandpiper, swinging them gently. 

Matthias kept on strumming softly for a couple of minutes, his fingers working lightly over the strings, glancing at Lukas every now and again as they sat side by side before he sighed and stopped and his hand fell away from the strings and into his lap. 

“Lukas, look-“ he began, turning to face him fully,

“No, let me explain.” Lukas cut him off, his eyes darting nervously between Matthias and his own hands as he picked at a loose thread on his trousers. 

He looked much better than he did last night. His curly hair was slightly damp still from the shower, and he was clean shaven once more and smelt faintly of shaving foam. He’d missed a spot though; Matthias couldn’t help but notice, where a small patch of the tiny bubbles gathered just beneath his jawline. 

There was a small silence as Matthias sat and waited patiently as Lukas exhaled softly and lay back on the roof, leaving his legs hanging over the edge of the boat and resting his hands gently across his stomach so that he was looking straight up at the sky.

“I know that there’s a letter at the post office for me, but I don’t want it.” he said, calmly.

Matthias swung his other leg up and laid the guitar down beside him so that he was sat cross legged looking down into Lukas’s face as he lay before him and sighed.

“But I have to deliver it. Especially something of that nature. Lu, I could get  _ fired _ if anyone finds out that I didn’t-“

“But it’s no use, I can’t pay up.” Lukas said quickly, interrupting Matthias again as he raised his hands from where they were resting over his stomach and signed wildly as he spoke for added expression. His bottom lip trembled and he screwed his eyes shut for a moment before they opened again and he finally met Matthias’s gaze. He wore the same expression on his face as Matthias had seen only last night, a look of complete sadness in his eyes. It was only there for a brief second however, and if Matthias hadn't been already looking at Lukas he would have missed it as the usual blank canvas returned as Lukas sat up again. 

"Well, I've made a cake." He said, wiping his hands on his jeans, and Matthias just blinked at him, a little taken aback by how easily Lukas could conceal his emotions and change the subject. 

“Cake? What’s that got to do with anything?”

Lukas looked at Matthias and smiled weakly as he shrugged, “I thought cake might be nice.” he said simply as he stood up and gingerly picked his way across the roof then leapt down onto the towpath. 

Matthias scrabbled after him, leaving his guitar on the roof as he swung himself down and followed Lukas over to  _ Skidbladnir _ . Freyr was sat having a wash in the sun on the foredeck but as soon as he saw Lukas he stopped and flopped over, rolling around and stretching out to expose his fluffy belly. Lukas fussed over him for a second before picking him up and carrying him inside, ducking down below deck. Matthias couldn’t help but smile at the happy expression on the cat's face as he purred away, his eyes closed in content with his head resting on Lukas’s shoulder before he put him down on the couch. 

As Matthias stepped aboard he tapped his hand twice above the door in greeting, happy to be back on  _ Skidbladnir _ again, he felt his bad mood diminishing with every minute he stood amongst the homely clutter that was Lukas’s boat. He crossed the saloon and took a seat on the edge of the arm of the couch. He scratched Freyr’s chin while he watched Lukas cut two generous slices of jam sponge and place them on two mismatched china plates before he turned and handed one to him.

“Wow Lu, this looks tasty,” Matthias said as he took it, picking up his slice of cake and looking at the perfect balance of jam and cream neatly piped between soft sponge before he took a bite. 

“Cake for breakfast huh?” He laughed and mumbled through his mouthful as he slid down off the couch arm and sank into the worn seat as Lukas sat down at the other end, Freyr lazily resuming his wash between them. The two of them ate quietly for a few minutes, Matthias polishing off the cake in a couple large mouthfuls while Lukas nibbled at his slice while staring off into space and he jumped when Matthias leaned over and put his empty plate down on the coffee table. Now that he was looking at Lukas as he kept his gaze to the floor Matthias suddenly felt the tension slowly building around them until Lukas sighed and put his plate and half eaten cake down on his lap.

“Four years ago I quit my job as a banker to enrol at an art University in Leeds. I was a mature student and I had a mortgage for a flat at the time. I hadn’t long since bought  _ Skidbladnir  _ either _ ,  _ so I knew that it was a gamble, but I thought my student loan and my savings would cover me for materials I needed for college while I worked on commissions on the side of my studies in order to pay for my mortgage.” Lukas began, stroking Freyr absentmindedly while he spoke, and Matthias sat forward and smiled to show that he was listening as Lukas suddenly opened up, at last sharing his story.

“For a while the loan and my savings were enough, but once I got into my second year of uni it started getting tougher, and I had less and less time for commissions as my assignments began to pile up. My money was running out by the second term and I started to fail some of my classes.” 

As he continued, Matthias smile soon faltered and was replaced with a frown as Lukas looked up through his hair that had fallen across his face and caught his eye. Then, he laughed, his slight shoulders shaking,

“I thought art school was going to be great, but when your creative outlet is scrutinised down to the last detail it’s hard. I found that each piece I made that I liked, my tutors would pick it apart until I hated it and tore it up. I’d stopped doing commissions by the end of second term and I hadn’t paid my mortgage for two months. I had given up on my art altogether. I was depressed, and had hardly any money, and if it weren’t for  _ Skidbladnir _ I don’t know what I would have done. Escaping for blissful weekends away from the world was what saved me in the end. The day I got my first call from the bank chasing the mortgage payments, I crumbled, and just never went back. It was either sell  _ Skidbladnir _ to just continue paying money towards a house that I would never really be able to pay off anyway and get stuck in a dead end job, or just leave it all behind.”

Matthias sat in a stunned silence as he watched Lukas now struggling to choke back tears, his voice rasping as he swallowed the lump in his throat. Lukas was looking around the room, looking anywhere but at Matthias.

“But what about your belongings?” Matthias said, then realised how trivial he sounded, as Lukas clearly didn’t care enough about them to just leave his life behind. “What about your house?”

Lukas waved his arms around and gestured to the room, “Everything I need is right here. This is my house. My  _ home _ .” 

Twiddling his thumbs and picking at a flap of loose skin around his fingernail, Matthias looked down at his hands for a moment before glancing back at Lukas,

“Well, what happened to her? Your boat?” he asked cautiously, but he could tell he'd struck a nerve anyway when Lukas visibly stiffened. He hadn’t seen the damage since last night, but after thinking back to how it had looked in the darkness Matthias knew broad daylight wouldn’t make it look much better. Lukas was silent for a moment, chewing on the inside of his cheek so hard that his lips twisted on his face.

“It was me. I destroyed the paintwork, if that’s what you mean.” he said finally, his voice coming out little more than a whisper as his shoulders slumped, and Matthias sat back, running a hand through his hair as images of Lukas angrily ruining the paintwork of his own beautiful boat filled his mind.

“Jesus, Lukas. Why? I mean I’m glad no one targeted you like I thought, but why did you do it? Where did you  _ go _ last week?”

Matthias fired questions at Lukas while trying his best not to sound accusatory, which he wasn’t, but he just wanted to understand what would drive Lukas to damage his boat and disappear. Freyr stood up on the couch and stretched before he leapt off and Lukas watched as he sauntered over to the bedroom and disappeared before he drew in a shaky breath, 

“I only went up the canal to the mooring we found that day under the willow tree. I’m working on a book and I needed a quiet place to think while I worked on the illustrations. But while I was out there I got an email from the solicitor,” he paused to swallow thickly, his fist clenching around the cushion beneath him,

“they warned me that the bank might want to take  _ Skidbladnir _ as collateral, even though I’ve already paid off the loan that I took out for her. Stupidly I thought that if I damaged the paintwork I could decrease her value and at the same time claim against the insurance and pretend that someone had vandalised her or tried to break in and use the cash payout to keep the bank off my back. But because I was away from my residential mooring the insurance doesn’t cover it.”

As Lukas spoke, Matthias watched as he was shrinking in on himself and pressing back deeper into the corner of the couch until he brought his legs up in front of him to hug them to his chest and hands up to his face and buried it in them. Quickly, Matthias closed the gap between them, sitting gingerly on the edge of the couch beside Lukas and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, Lukas, it’s gonna be okay,” he said, gently squeezing his fingers around it, “Can’t your parents help? If you’re in legal trouble about to have your house repossessed then surely-” he stopped when Lukas took his hands away from his face and looked at him, his eyes narrowed,

“They don’t know. No-one does. Well, my brother does, but he thinks that I sold the flat. My parents even still send my birthday card to Leeds and for the past two years I’ve had to call them and thank them for it even though it’s still lying unopened with the rest of the mail and final demands behind the door.”

Matthias had never in his life seen anyone look so lost, so vulnerable, and he felt his heart aching for Lukas as he watched him wipe the few tears that threatened to fall away on his sleeve before wrapping his arms around his legs to fold in on himself even tighter. 

“Lukas, you can’t run from something like this, or you’ll be running forever. Debt collectors aren't fun.” Matthias pressed, his hand falling from Lukas's shoulder as he shook it off and glared at him,

“You think I need you to tell me that?” he snapped, then exhaled sharply,

“Sorry. It’s just… this is the first time they’ve managed to track me down. If only you weren’t so damn good at your job, makin’ sure to have my mail redirected properly,” Lukas said as he smiled weakly, looking up at Matthias from where he’d rested his chin on his knees. 

Matthias opened his mouth to protest, but the words died on his tongue as Lukas continued, casting his gaze over to the wall and letting his eyes wander over the photographs that hung there,

“But it doesn’t matter, I’ve just accepted it now, and if anything I’ll feel better when it’s all over once the foreclosure goes through. I’ll have moved on again by then anyway,”

“Whaddya mean?” Matthias asked as Lukas shuffled forward on the couch and stood up, wiping the last of his tears away as if they had never been there in the first place before picking up their plates and walking over to the galley. He tipped his half eaten piece of cake into the bin then ran some warm water into the sink and dunked the plates into the soapy water.

“Lukas. What do you mean?” Matthias asked again, slower this time, his tone more pointed, and watched as Lukas bowed his head over the sink, paying too much attention to scrubbing the remains of jam and cream from the plate with the dish sponge,

“My mooring licence expires on the 31st of July. I only planned to stay here for 3 months." Lukas said, though he kept his back turned on Matthias as he started to dry the now clean plates on the dish towel and put them away again in the cupboard above the cooker.

Matthias sat on the couch, deflated and feeling like an idiot. He hung his head and let his eyes trace the patterns in the polished wooden floor of the boat. Lukas was clearly going through a rough time, yet here he was getting upset about the fact that Lukas had kissed him despite knowing that he would be leaving and hadn't thought to say anything. He was just a fling to Lukas, if you could even call what they had a fling.

"Hey." Lukas’s voice brought Matthias from his thoughts, and his eyes moved from the floorboards to Lukas's feet as he crept across the boat and stopped in front of him and prodded him gently on the shoulder with his finger.

"I don't want this to change anything. You know my story now, but there's nothing you or I can do about it." Lukas said, causing Matthias to snap his head up to look at him, 

"I'll ask you for the  _ third _ time, what do you mean, Lukas? Of course this changes things! Does it mean nothing to you that I kissed you? That I care about you?" Matthias scoffed, standing up quickly and Lukas took a step back, his eyes wide,

Matthias was irritated now, and began to pace the small living area, 

"What are we doing? You can't play with my feelings like this." he had to stop himself from raising his voice and waving his hands around in frustration, “I get it, you’ve got some shit on your plate, and I’m sorry, really I am, but if you want my opinion then runnin’ away from your problems won’t help!”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion, I confided in you.” Lukas said simply, and Matthias stopped pacing, dragging his hand across his face,

“I know, I know. Sorry. It just hurts that you don’t like me back. I still wanna help you though Lukas, but I guess I just read everything wrong-” 

“What makes you think I don’t like you back?” Lukas’s voice was hesitant as he folded his arms defensively across his chest, and Matthias felt himself turn bright red,

“I, well, you were just gonna leave after 3 months! And you didn’t wanna talk about, y’know, that night,” Matthias spluttered, words falling out of his mouth, and he turned on the spot as Lukas brushed past him to walk through the boat, stopping at his bedroom door. 

“Let me show you something.” he said, turning the door handle and stepping into the room.

Matthias followed, and his jaw fell open when he peered around the doorframe.

Expecting to see a similar layout to his own bedroom with just a large bed and tiny closet space, Matthias was shocked to find that the room was instead littered with easels displaying half finished drawings and a large desk stood proudly beneath the porthole window bowing under the weight of so many tubes of paint, stacks of paper and pots full to bursting of brushes and pencils. A small single bed was in the corner, and Freyr was now curled up on the duvet fast asleep.

Entering the room, Matthias was drawn to the easels as he let his eyes wander over Lukas’s art before he gasped upon looking closer,

“Lukas, that’s me!” he peered at a watercolour painting, and sure enough it was his face and wild hair, except he had pointed ears and his freckles were painted in glitter as though they were gold dust. Each painting was the same character from slightly different angles, interacting with trolls, faeries and witches, and once Matthias had looked at them all, Lukas pointed to one final piece that was laid out on the desk.

_ “Mads and The Ljósálfar. Story and Illustration by Lukas Thomassen.”  _ Matthias breathed as he read over the title of the book and Lukas fidgeted beside him.

“You’re the only person who’s ever seen me for me. Not once have you dumbed down your speech or raised your voice so that I can ‘understand you better’.” Lukas began, his tone sarcastic on the last few words, 

“You’ve never stared at me when I sign, or laughed at me when I talk about mythology, or ever got frustrated when I asked you to repeat something if I didn’t hear you. Had I known that you’d been tucked away in this tiny village the whole time I would have moored up and never left a long time ago. But I can’t stay-” Lukas’s voice cracked and broke into a whisper as Matthias took hold of his shoulders and pulled him close, wrapping his arms around Lukas and squeezing him tightly. He smiled and buried his face into Lukas’s curls that fell about the crook of his neck when he felt Lukas’s hands clasp behind his back as he returned the hug.

They stayed like that for a few moments, swaying gently to and fro until Lukas let his hands drop and Matthias pulled away,

“I can’t make you change your mind. If you want to leave Mytholm then I can’t stop you. But we still have two months ahead of us, why don’t we enjoy them?” Matthias said, wiping away a tear that Lukas finally allowed to fall with his thumb as that crooked smile appeared, and Lukas leaned his cheek into his touch. The world seemed to slow around them as Matthias leant down and brushed the tip of his nose against Lukas’s, then smiled into their kiss when Lukas was the one this time to close the gap between them. 

Winding strands of Lukas’s hair around his finger, Matthias deepened the kiss, and by the time they pulled away they were both breathless. Keeping his hands resting where they were on Matthias’s shoulders, Lukas touched his forehead against Matthias’s and looked into his eyes and Matthias could feel his chest rising and falling.

“Matthias?” he whispered, 

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a song and a kiss in the same chapter? again? what do you mean I'm a cliche?
> 
> The song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqw3CGL79Uk (acoustic version)
> 
> https://youtu.be/KUH42qHeZsg (original)


	9. Chapter Nine - The height of summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soorrryyy if there's typos I have not proof read but I will fix them eventually

**Chapter Nine - The Height of Summer**

“Uncle Matt!”

Matthias beamed as he crouched down and held his arms out wide, scooping up his nephew as he ran towards him into a big hug. “Wow you’ve gotten big, bud! You’ll be taller than your Dad soon!” Matthias said as he squeezed him tightly, and Peter’s arms clung around the back of his neck. He ruffled his hair as he set him back down again, then and looked up as Tino and Berwald walked across the car park.

It was Thursday, June 4th, and Mytholmroyd was still relatively quiet for a weekday morning. Tino’s car was one of only three in the village car park, and Matthias watched with a smile as Tino struggled to stop their dog, Hana, from pulling on her leash, her little tail wagging furiously at the sight of him. For such a small dog she had endless energy, and Matthias knew that unless he greeted her before Tino and Berwald she would only jump up and scratch at his trouser leg until he paid her attention.

“Hi Hana, yes I know I’m happy to see you too,” Matthias cooed, bending down to stroke her head and rub her fluffy belly as she rolled all over the asphalt, and looked up at Tino.

“She never stops!” he laughed, then straightened up and gave Tino a quick hug, before pulling away and looking at Berwald.

“Hey Ber, good to see ya,” Matthias squeezed Berwald’s forearm a little, but Berwald just rolled his eyes and smiled,

“Oh c’mere,” he said, wrapping his arms around Matthias’s shoulders and bringing him into a hug, “It’s good to see ya too, Matt, sorry it’s been so long,” he mumbled before stepping back and letting go.

Matthias shrugged, his smile still just as wide, “Nah it’s no problem, you're here now. We’re all busy so it’s nice to have a couple days off! I just need to grab a couple things then we can set off.” 

Leading the way back toward his boat, Matthias walked with Peters hand in his, swinging it gently to and fro and listened as Peter told him about the things he’d been learning at school. He’d just turned 5 and started going to half day classes at the primary school he’d be enrolled into fully come September. Matthias couldn’t believe how fast the years were going by and how quickly his nephew was growing up as he looked down at him chatting away. 

They were just nearing the moorings when Matthias spotted Lukas on the towpath ahead standing with another person having a conversation in sign language. It was the first time Matthias had seen Lukas signing fully, and his face was now suddenly full of expression, his hand movements strong and sure compared to how they were usually when he would loosely sign absentmindedly. 

Since their conversation on Saturday, things had been better between Lukas and Matthias. There was less awkwardness, and Matthias felt happier than he could remember while around Lukas. On Sunday, Matthias had sat and watched Lukas draw, as he added the finishing touches to the first draft of his book in his make-shift bedroom studio. Then, yesterday Lukas had knocked on the door of  _ The Sandpiper _ and handed Matthias a birthday card with the promise of taking him on a trip up the river at the weekend as he would be busy over his actual birthday, which was tomorrow. In the back of his mind though, Matthias couldn’t stop thinking about what Lukas had said about his debts, and even though come Monday morning he’d delivered the foreclosure letter, he knew that it would just be lying somewhere on Lukas’s boat, unopened.

“Ah I always forget how beautiful the canal is until we come and visit,” Matthias heard Tino say as they came to a stop on the path beside  _ The Sandpiper,  _ and the person that Lukas was talking to turned to look over his shoulder and eyed Matthias cautiously as he approached. 

“Hey guys,” Matthias began, but the person that Lukas had been talking to signed something quickly to him and interrupted Matthias,

“I’m sorry, but my brother is deaf, I can interpret for you…” but even he faltered when it was Lukas’s turn to interrupt as he fiddled with his hearing aid and switched it on,

“It’s okay Emil, I know him.” he said quietly.

Emil raised an eyebrow and his mouth gaped slightly as his eyes darted between Matthias and Lukas, “You  _ talk _ to him?” he muttered under his breath, seeming genuinely shocked,

“Matthias, this is my brother, Emil. Emil, this is my neighbour, Matthias.” Lukas said as he introduced them before peering around Matthias’s shoulder to look at Peter, Berwald and Tino as they stood a little awkwardly behind him.

“Oh, right! Well,” Matthias stepped aside and the six of them formed a sort of circle on the towpath, “Lukas, this is  _ my _ brother, Berwald, his fiance Tino and their son, Peter. I think I told you about ‘em though right?” he said, and Lukas nodded, smiling shyly,

“Yeah, I've heard a lot about you all, it’s nice to meet you.” Lukas said, extending his hand out towards Tino who stood closest to him.

Matthias watched as Tino passed Hana’s leash to Berwald and then instead offered his left hand to Lukas. He was completely used to this sort of slightly awkward interaction around his brother-in-law and new people by now.

“Oh, sorry! I'm not very good at handshakes, I'm actually missing my arm you see," Tino said, but he still smiled brightly and laughed in spite of himself a little as he shrugged his right shoulder, his jacket sleeve now obviously empty. Lukas's face turned pink as he hurried to swap hands and took Tino's left hand in his, shaking it gently.

"Sorry, my mistake." Lukas apologised as he let go of Tino's hand and let his own drop back by his side, choosing to instead just nod and Berwald and Peter in greeting instead. The towpath fell into small silence until Hana started barking and tugged on her leash.

"A cat!" Peter cried, pointing to Freyr who was all puffed up defensively on the deck of Skidbladnir, hissing at Hana. He ran towards the cat, and Berwald struggled with keeping Hana on a short leash and reaching forward to grab the back of Peter's t-shirt at the same time, pulling him back from the canal edge.

"Peter, be careful near the water." He warned, and Matthias shook his head in amusement as Emil left Lukas's side to usher Freyr back inside and Tino and Berwald fussed over Peter.

"Why didn't you tell me that Tino only had one arm? I didn't mean to embarrass him." Lukas whispered to Matthias as they were now in the absence of everyone else.

Matthias laughed and scratched the back of his head, 

"I guess I just forget, I've only ever known him with one arm so it's normal for us. And trust me, Tino doesn't care at all, he's not embarrassed. Besides, I don't go around tellin' people you're deaf, so what does it matter that Tino is an amputee?" He shrugged, glancing over his shoulder to see that Emil had disappeared inside  _ Skidbladnir _ with the cat and Tino was crouched on the towpath scolding Peter for running too close to the water's edge.

When Matthias looked back at Lukas, he was smiling a little, "Yeah, you’re right. It’s not an important detail." he said, then folded his arms and flipped his hair out of his eyes with a small jerk of his head,

"So what are your plans for today then, birthday boy?" 

"We're going strawberry picking!" Peter cried before Matthias could respond to Lukas, and Matthias smiled down at him as he came bounding over.

"That's right bud, we are!" he said, then turned back to Lukas.

"There's a strawberry farm not too far away, a couple of miles past Todmorden. I'll bring you back a punnet or two if you like." Matthias offered, touching Lukas's elbow lightly.

"Don't be silly, you don't have to worry about bringing any for me, it's your birthday after all." Lukas chuckled lightly, and Matthias grinned widely at the sound of his soft laughter.

"But you didn't say no, so I'll get ya some." Matthias winked as he turned on his heel and took hold of Peters hand again,

"Bye Lukas!" Peter waved, then pulled Matthias along as he skipped toward Berwald and Tino who had already begun making their way back to the car, leaving Lukas standing smiling on the towpath.

\-------

The wind whipped through the car as Berwald slipped his hand backwards between the seat and rolled the car window down for Peter. He stuck his face out, Hana doing the same as she stood on Peter’s lap with her front two paws up against the car door and Matthias peered between the two front seats to look out at the road ahead as they passed through the winding countryside. 

“Don’t keep your head out too long Peter. Only five minutes.” Berwald chided.

“Okay Dad, I’m just sniffing for the strawberries. Hana is too, aren’t you Hana?” Peter said, a happy smile plastered on his little face as the breeze blew through his hair and Matthias heard Berwald laugh lowly in the passenger seat. 

“Well we’re nearly there, strawberry sniffer. Any minute now and you should be able to see the fields.” Tino said as he turned the car off the main road and onto a dirt track. 

As much as Matthias adored Tino, being in a car when he was at the wheel always made him nervous. He was just as capable as the next person despite missing his right arm and there wasn’t much that stopped him, there was no denying it, but Matthias’s heart lurched every time he took his hand off the steering wheel to change gear or switch the radio station over. Berwald clearly wasn’t phased by it anymore though, and the idea of a modified or automatic car just wasn’t worth arguing with a stubborn Finn over. 

“I see them! Can dogs eat strawberries?” Peter cried as the fields came into view.

“I don’t see why not, but I wouldn’t wanna be your Isä having to clean red strawberry stains from a white dog, so best we didn’t try it, eh bud?” Matthias said, patting Hana on her fluffy head, then laughed when Tino glared at him through the rear view mirror. 

After a couple more minutes of bumping down the dirt track, Tino pulled into a parking space and the four of them got out of the car. The weather was warm and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the wonderful scent of sweet strawberries filled the air. They hung around by the car for a moment while Tino faffed, debating whether or not to leave his jacket in the car until he finally made up his mind and left it behind on the back seat. 

Once they’d paid for four tickets at the concession, they were each given a little wicker basket full of cardboard punnets for the strawberries and were told they could pick as many as they could fit in their baskets. Tino and Peter didn’t need to be told twice as they raced ahead, Hana yapping at their heels while Matthias and Berwald ambled behind them.

“Have you spoken to Mum lately?” Matthias asked, and Berwald nodded.

“Mm. She wants to drive up in a few weeks to help prep for the wedding, but Tino’s parents are flyin’ in the same week so I’m a bit worried.” he said as he glanced at Matthias, and Matthias knew exactly what his brother was thinking. Their mother liked to fuss over them, still not quite ready to acknowledge the fact that both of her sons were adults now, and the fact that Berwald was getting ready to tie the knot had sent her into doting mother overdrive recently.

“I’m sure it’ll be fun, Ber. And it’s not like you don’t have room for them. If you didn’t own the guesthouse I don’t know what you would’ve done!” Matthias teased, elbowing Berwald in the arm as they walked along.

They watched Peter and Tino up ahead as they were crouched among the rows of strawberry crops, their baskets already nearly half full.

“So, Lukas seems nice.”

It was Berwald’s turn to tease, and Matthias could feel his face turning as red as the strawberries.

“He is, Ber. I… I really like him, but there’s something I gotta tell you.” 

Matthias slowed their pace down even more as he told Berwald all about last week when Lukas disappeared, to what he’d told him about his debts and his house being repossessed and his mooring licence expiring on the 31st of July. 

“Sounds complicated.” Berwald said once Matthias had finished, causing Matthias to stare at him incredulously.

“Ya think I don’t know that? Am I being stupid, Ber, for even thinking there’s a chance that he might stick around? Or am I just gonna spend the next month and a half wasting my time?”

Berwald was quiet for a moment, and Matthias could feel his anticipation growing as he waited for him to elaborate. 

“I don’t think you’re wastin’ your time, but don’t get y’self hurt, Matt.” Berwald said eventually, though there was a warning tone to his voice. “But at least you know about his plans to leave so you can prepare, I suppose.”

Matthias felt his heart sinking at the thought, but Berwald was right, and he was glad of the fact that he knew about Lukas’s 3 month rule even if he did find himself counting down the days to July 31st. 

“I just feel so naive, but I can’t remember the last time I felt like this.” Matthias muttered, looking down at his feet as he walked over the remains of a squashed strawberry that had been trodden into the straw beneath their shoes.

“Why don’t ya invite him to the wedding as your plus one,” Berwald said, though it was more a definitive suggestion rather than a question, and Matthias glanced at him, searching for any sign that Berwald was still teasing him, but found none in his sincere expression.

“You think that’s a good idea? I mean, I guess I could ask him but isn’t it a bit forward?” Matthias gushed.

Berwald shrugged, “So what if it’s forward? If he’s gonna be leaving in just less than two months anyway, what have ya got to lose?” 

Matthias regarded Berwald, watching him as he looked ahead at Tino and Peter, the two loves of his life, as their laughter carried across the field, and couldn’t help but think he was right.

\--------------

It was late afternoon by the time they’d arrived back in Mytholm. Despite their conversation in the car earlier, Hana was covered in red stains from running through the strawberry fields. Matthias was also sporting a small blob of jam on his t-shirt from when they’d sat down to eat all manner of strawberry themed sweet treats in the tearooms after their baskets were full and they were warm from the sun. 

Tino, Berwald and Peter had gone to check into the guest room they were staying in above The Dusty Miller pub, leaving Matthias to walk back along the towpath with more strawberries than he knew what to do with in a lifetime. The entire drive back, Matthias kept going over his conversation with Berwald in his head, and was still lost in his thoughts by the time he reached the moorings that he hadn’t noticed Lukas at first. He was just about to step aboard  _ The Sandpiper  _ when Matthias spotted him sitting on the deck of  _ Skidbladnir _ , his jeans rolled up to the knee and his feet drawing circles in the water of the canal in a world of his own. 

Setting the paper bag full of strawberries down onto the towpath by his boat, Matthias took out one of the punnets and made his way over to  _ Skidbladnir _ , making sure to step onto the deck heavily so Lukas would feel him approaching behind him so he didn’t startle him. He kicked his shoes off as Lukas turned to look over his shoulder and watched him fiddle with his hearing aids before easing himself down to sit beside him, dropping his legs into the canal over the side of the boat and enjoying how cool the water felt as it lapped against them. 

“Ta da,” Matthias announced as he handed the little cardboard punnet of strawberries to Lukas. “There’s plenty more where that came from, I think we picked half the field.”

Placing his palms flat out behind him, Matthias leaned back a little as Lukas smiled and set the strawberries down between them.

“Looks like you had fun.” Lukas said, nodding to the stain on Matthias’s shirt with a fond smile, and Matthias grinned, taking a strawberry and popping it into his mouth.

There was a comfortable quietness as Matthias savoured the tart, sweetness of the strawberry and fiddled with the green top that he’d plucked off of it between his fingers.

“So, your brother is visiting too. Does he visit often?” he said once he’d swallowed his mouthful and tossed the strawberry top into the canal, watching it float away with the current.

Lukas shook his head, “Not really. He’s studying Geology in Scotland so he doesn’t really get much time to travel to wherever I am apart from during summer break. What about your brother?” 

Just like that, as Lukas spoke, Matthias was reminded yet again of Lukas’s intention to leave Mytholm and travel to wherever his next destination was but couldn’t dwell too much on it as he answered Lukas’s question.

“Not as much as I’d like, but he’s busy with his own life as am I with mine. We fought a lot when we were growing up, and we’re actually only step brothers.” Matthias caught Lukas’s eye as he raised an eyebrow,

“Yeah. My Mum married his Dad when we were young and we both found it tough growing up together as brothers 'cause we were the same age. Well, I’m older by a couple months but that’s it. Berwald felt that mum didn’t love him as much as me which I guess was kinda true at first but that was no-ones fault. His mum died when he was two so he grew up with it just being him and his dad until I came along.” Matthias looked down at his feet in the water a little sheepishly at the memory of his teenage self,

“Now that we’re older we’re really close, and we have Tino to thank for a lot of it. He was always stopping us from fighting.” he laughed, reaching for another strawberry, but Lukas playfully slapped his hand away,

“Oi, hands off. I thought you said these were my strawberries?” his voice was thick with sarcasm as he cupped his hands over the top of the punnet like a selfish child would as he smirked. Matthias was about to lean over and kiss that smirk right off when the doors of the boat opened and Emil popped his head out, his hair wet from a shower.

Matthias watched as he hesitated for a moment, looking surprised to see him sitting beside his brother before signing something to Lukas. Lukas signed back and then rolled his eyes once Emil had disappeared back inside.

“Emil wants to start prepping dinner, so I’d better go in.” 

They both stood up, leaving wet footprints all over the deck as they took their feet out of the water. Lukas must have spent the day on the river with Emil today, as now that Matthias was looking at him properly the tip of his nose was sunburnt and a thin layer of freckles had appeared. Waiting until he’d straightened back up again from bending down to pick up the strawberry punnet, Matthias whet his lips and cleared his throat once Lukas’s gaze fell back upon him,

“Lukas, I was wondering if you… if you wanted to-” Matthias attempted to ask Lukas if he would come to the wedding with him, though the words wouldn’t leave his throat. Berwald’s advice might have worked for anybody else, but Matthias wasn’t sure about Lukas. He still had plenty to lose.

After tripping over his words some more, Matthias stopped, composed himself and started again. 

“Do you wanna come to the pub tomorrow night? We’re celebrating my birthday, and I’d love it if you came. You can bring Emil too.” he said instead, and wanted to kick himself for being so dumb, but Lukas only smiled. It was barely there, but by now Matthias knew to look for it.

“I’d promised Emil that we’d take the train to Manchester for the day, but if you want we could drop by when we get back,” Lukas offered, and Matthias felt a big fat grin stretch across his face. 

“Okay cool. Well I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then!” Matthias said as he turned to leave, “Oh! We’ll be at The Dusty Miller by the way,” he called over his shoulder as he leapt over to the towpath. 

Lukas hesitated as though he were going to say something, his mouth slightly parted, but he just dropped his gaze to the punnet of strawberries in his hands for a moment before shaking his head and looking back at Matthias.

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.” he said with a small smile before opening the doors to his boat and heading below deck. 

Matthias waited until the doors clicked closed before heading to his own boat. He picked up the bag of strawberries and once he was inside he put them into the fridge. Now that he was bent down, the light from inside the fridge shone on his legs and Matthias noticed that he had bits of algae from the canal clinging to his leg hair. He still had time for a quick shower before Tino, Berwald and Peter would be over for dinner, and so Matthias grabbed a towel from the cupboard on his way to the tiny bathroom and hung it on the back of the door before turning the shower on and stripping down, leaving his shorts and t-shirt in a pile on the floor.

While he stood there letting the warm water run over him, Matthias closed his eyes and tried to think of anything but Lukas’s sun kissed face, but it was no use. The more he thought about the next two months, the more his heart sank at the thought that by the end of the summer Lukas could be gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eehhhhh I can't decide if I like this chapter or not, so I'll let y'all be the judge.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading as usual, and WOW thank you for 500 hits already on this story! I'm blown away. ♥️
> 
> -lumassen x


	10. Chapter Ten - I've Got You

Chapter Ten - I've got you

The rain began to seep through Matthias’s denim jacket and water from puddles that had quickly gathered on the pavement splashed up his legs as he and Tino ran through the village.

The morning of his birthday had gotten off to a good start weather-wise, the sky only overcast as they drove to and spent the day in Huddersfield for brunch at a cozy little restaurant that Berwald and Tino had booked and paid for as a treat. It had only just gone 1pm by the time Tino ordered a round of beers, insisting that when it was a birthday celebration it was never too early to start the drinks flowing; to which Matthias hadn't objected as they clinked their glasses together in cheers over their meal.

It was on the drive back home when the rain started to pour, and Berwald had parked as close as he could to the tow path so that they didn’t have far to dash in the summer downpour to get to  _ The Sandpiper.  _ Despite the rain though, Matthias’s spirits hadn’t been dampened and the afternoon had flown by as they all hung out together below deck and listened to the raindrops on the roof. They’d video chatted with Matthias’s mother for a while when she’d called to wish him happy birthday, then once she’d gone Peter had excitedly handed Matthias his birthday card and presents. 

His nephew had picked out a leather bound photo frame for him and inside it was a picture of Berwald, Tino, Peter, his parents and himself from the last time they had all been together about 7 months ago before Christmas. Matthias couldn’t help but notice how much little Peter had changed in that time, seemingly so much younger and shyer in the photo than the confident and rambunctious child that had bounced up and down beside him in delight that he liked his gift. As well as the photo, Tino and Berwald had gotten Matthias a new watch and a couple of bottles of nice craft beer from a brewery in the town they lived in. 

After Matthias had expressed his gratitude towards his gifts and stood his birthday card up on the side table beside the one Lukas had given him and the few that he’d received from various people in the village, he and Berwald cooked dinner together and caught up with each other's lives. Tino and Peter had snuggled on the couch with Hana and snacked on yesterday's strawberries as they watched a movie on Matthias’s laptop. Once they’d finished dinner and the rain had eased slightly they took their leave to go and get ready for the evening leaving Matthias to do the same. Then an hour or so later, Tino had come back to get him and bring him to the pub, dressed smartly in a neatly ironed blue polo shirt and slacks.

“It’s like we’re teenagers again! So carefree!” Tino shouted a little breathlessly to Matthias from where he was currently running a couple paces in front of him. He was holding a little umbrella over his head, and Matthias had his denim jacket over his own, though it wasn’t doing much good as he could feel his clothes growing damp from the rain.

He laughed as Tino glanced over his shoulder to catch his eye for a moment, a grin on his face,

“Whaddya mean?” Matthias shouted back.

“Running to the pub in the rain! It reminds me of that time when we were in Surrey and we got caught in that storm on a night out.” Tino said, his tone of voice now a little wistful, and Matthias smiled at the memory. He, Tino and Berwald had gone on what they had called at the time a ‘lads holiday’ and drank themselves half to death back when they were just turning 20 and Berwald passed his driving test and got his first car.

Slowing down once they’d turned the corner, Tino and Matthias reached The Dusty Miller and ducked into the entrance way of the pub to catch their breath for a moment. Matthias removed his jacket from his head and watched as Tino held the handle of the umbrella between his thighs then used his hand to fold it down. 

“I dunno about carefree, Tino. I had a hangover for a week after that weekend!” Matthias laughed as he shook the water from his jacket before draping it over his arm, but then his smile faded when he caught Tino's expression.

“But... Are you saying that you don't feel carefree now? I mean, I know we’ve grown up but- Oh, sorry,” Matthias stopped talking for a second as he moved out of the way of the door to the pub as someone came out and apologised, stepping back out onto the pavement to let them past before ducking over the cover of the entrance again.

When Matthias looked back at Tino again, his usual bright smile was on his face, 

“Ah, don't worry about me,” Tino said as he waved his hand to dismiss the topic, but despite his smile Matthias could tell that something was on his mind. He stared at him, brow raised, and watched as Tino fidgeted under his gaze a little before he sighed.

“It’s just, I’m getting _ married,  _ next month.” he began, then paused for a moment, his attention flickering between Matthias and the water dripping into the floor off his umbrella, “I’m not saying I don’t want to because I really do. Berwald is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and Peter too of course, but I…" 

Tino trailed off before harshly shaking his head and turned to face the door to the pub. 

“It doesn’t matter, I’m just being silly. Shall we?”

Matthias knew better than to press Tino to talk about something when he didn’t want to, so although reluctant he dropped the subject and nodded. A more genuine grin broke across Tino’s face now as he turned to look at Matthias as he shoved the door open with his shoulder. 

“Happy Birthday Matthias!” 

A cheer came from a crowded table at the back of the room almost immediately after he'd stepped over the threshold, and Matthias held a hand over his heart as it startled him and Tino elbowed him playfully in the ribs. 

“Aw you guys!" Matthias beamed as he approached where Berwald and Peter were sitting with Manon, Dylan and a couple more of his friends from around the village. The bar behind them was decorated with streamers and balloons. Michael, the pub’s owner, slid a freshly pulled pint toward Matthias insisting that it was on the house. Taking the pint with a large smile, Matthias sat down to say hello to everyone and gushed numerous ‘thank you’s’ to all the birthday wishes they gave to him. 

For a lot of other 28 year olds, celebrating in an old village pub with only close friends and family may have seemed a bit lame and instead a night out in the big city would have been more fitting, but Matthias wouldn't want to spend his birthday any other way. He watched as the usually stoic Berwald was chatting to Manon and Tino bent down to allow Peter to wrap his arms around his neck before hoisting him up to balance against his hip, swaying with him to the song playing from a playlist of all Matthias favourites that Berwald had set up. 

“Happy Birthday, Bud.” 

Dylan said as he slid onto the stool beside him and draped an arm across the back of his neck. Matthias tore his attention away from watching the company of the room to look at his friend with a grin as they clinked their beer glasses together.

\----------

A couple of hours had passed and the table was already full of empty pint and wine glasses, the chatter growing louder and voices beginning to slur as the night went on. Other pub goers that Matthias didn’t even know would nod in his direction from the bar as they ordered their drinks and wish him a happy birthday, reminding Matthias exactly why it was that he loved Mytholm so much.

“D’ya ‘member when we were gonna start a band?”

Tino said to no one in particular as he slumped his head against Berwald’s shoulder. He was drunk, or very tipsy at least, his cheeks flushed and his fair hair was sticking to his forehead. 

Peter gasped from where he was sitting on Matthias’s lap opposite his parents at the table. 

“What? You were gonna be famous?” he asked excitedly, his eyes darting between Tino and Berwald. Berwald laughed and brought his hand up to run his fingers softly through Tino’s hair. 

“Was just in school, Peter. It was Isi’s idea more than anythin’.” he said fondly.

Once again Matthias found himself smiling as he thought back to the free period’s they had spent in the music room. Berwald took piano lessons and so he would mess around on the keyboard while Tino sang and Matthias taught himself the guitar over the years. 

With his other hand, Berwald raised his bottle of Heineken to his lips, “Saw your acoustic on your boat. You still play?” he said then took a swig as Matthias nodded.

“Yeah! I’ve learnt a couple new songs recently,” Matthias enthused, but his attention was taken away from Berwald as the door opened and a draft from outside blew into the pub. Berwald turned to look over his shoulder to follow Matthias’s gaze, and when he turned back to look at him he had a knowing smirk plastered on his face. 

Lukas was fiddling with wrapping up his umbrella, fussing over the fact that it was dripping all over the carpet while Emil stood a little awkwardly by his side. The two of them were dressed smartly, and Matthias felt his cheeks warm at the sight of Lukas in a fitted shirt and formal trousers as opposed to the jeans and loose t-shirts that he usually wore. 

Tino pushed himself up from leaning against Berwald and patted his knee, beckoning for Peter to let Matthias get up to greet Lukas. 

“C’mere, honey.” he said as Peter jumped up and cuddled against his Isä’s chest. Matthias stood up and hovered by the side of the table, grinning from ear to ear as Lukas and Emil crossed the room. 

“You came!” Matthias was  _ just _ sober enough to know that no matter how much he wanted to, Lukas probably wouldn’t appreciate being pulled in for a kiss or a hug in front of a room full of strangers and so instead he ended up just bouncing a little on the spot in front of Lukas and his brother.

“Happy Birthday.” Lukas said quietly with a shy smile, and Matthias recognised the sign that his hands made as he spoke. It was the same one that he’d learned that day out on the canal when it was Lukas’s birthday. He was just about to ask Lukas and Emil if he could buy them a drink when a wave of nostalgia hit him as the next song came on the playlist. 

His jaw slackened as he spun around on the spot to see if Tino and Berwald had heard the song too. Matthias was torn between wanting to spend time with Lukas to show his appreciation, not quite able to believe that he had actually shown up, and wanting to make sure that his brother in law was alright following their brief conversation on the way to the pub earlier. 

“Thank you!” he gushed as he looked back over his shoulder again, “Uh, if you guys wanna find a seat and order yourselves a drink on my tab and I’ll be right back!” 

Matthias made it to the table that Tino was sat at just in time for the first verse of the song and stood behind him then placed a hand on his shoulder,

_ “The world would be a lonely place…”  _

He sang the words with a grin on his face, gaze flickering between Tino and Berwald and watched as Tino’s face lit up as he clearly recognised the song from their youth,

“ _ Without the one that puts a smile on your face,”  _ Tino sang the next line, and despite being drunk and slumped over with a child in his lap his voice was just as good as Matthias had remembered. 

_ “So hold me till the sun burns out. I won't be lonely when I'm down,” _

Peter’s face was a picture, looking up in awe at his Isä as he sang in harmony with Matthias. Stealing a quick glance at Berwald, Matthias nodded toward Peter and Berwald reached forward to pluck him from Tino’s lap so that Matthias could pull him to his feet. 

_ “Cause I've got you! To make me feel stronger! When the days are rough and an hour seems much longer!” _

Pretending to hold a microphone to his mouth, Tino sang loudly and Matthias found that suddenly a lot of eyes were on them but couldn’t bring himself to care as long as there were smiles on his families faces. 

Berwald wolf whistled, causing Tino to turn and wink at him while Peter copied a couple of other people who were clapping along to the beat of the song.

_ “Yeah but I've got you! Oh, to make me feel better! When the nights are long they'll be easier together,” _

The pair of them continued for the rest of the song, Matthias even breaking out the air guitar at one point, until they both collapsed out of breath in a fit of giggles back into their seat at the table.

“That was amazing!” Peter exclaimed, trying his best to stifle a yawn as he clambered back over into Tino’s lap and threw his arms around his neck. "It's a shame Hana missed it." 

Matthias couldn't help but laugh at Peter's habit of referring to Hana as if she were a person opposed to a fluffy Bichon Frise. 

"Well Hana is sleeping up in the room, which is what you should be doing. C'mon, it’s getting late. Say goodnight to everyone," Tino said softly as he stood up from the table, holding Peter against his hip and nearly stumbling as he walked around the table to Berwald. Even after several vodka tonics, Tino could still impressively switch to parent mode at the drop of a hat.

"You gonna be alright on the stairs? Want me to come with you?" Berwald offered, about to get up when Lukas spoke up from the next table.

"I'll go with you. If that's okay-" He said, his face a little pink as a result of so many eyes on him as he put his half empty pint glass down onto the table and stood up quickly. Puzzled, Tino and Matthias exchanged glances until Tino returned his gaze to Lukas with a smile. 

"Joo, ah, yeah sure that’s fine." he said a little hesitantly and shrugged the best he could with Peter in his arm and gestured with a jerk of his head for Lukas to follow him. 

Matthias watched as Lukas signed to Emil, who looked stunned as his brother then left with Tino to climb the stairs leading to the guest rooms upstairs. He was about to go and talk to Emil who now seemed incredibly awkward sat alone at the table when Berwald tapped him on the shoulder.

“Thanks, Matt. Haven’t heard him sing for a long time.” 

Chewing on his lip, Matthias wondered for a moment if he should tell Berwald about what Tino had said earlier but decided against it when he caught the look on his brother's face as if he knew anyway.

“I think he misses it. You still got the old upright piano in the lounge at the guesthouse?”

Berwald nodded and adjusted his glasses on his nose, and Matthias gave his shoulder a squeeze. 

“Maybe you should play it for him sometime.” he said with a smile then excused himself, moving to Emil’s table and sliding onto a stool across from him. Emil looked up from his phone and gave a weak smile.

Matthias leaned on the table, chin in palm. “Emil, right? Just thought I’d say hey and thanks for coming tonight.”

“Yeah. And no worries, I could tell Lukas wanted to come.” he said, though there was a tone to his voice that Matthias couldn’t place, “How’d you know him? You guys must be good friends.” 

Matthias laughed awkwardly, “Er, yeah I guess you could say that. And he’s my neighbour on the canal, we just got to know each other.”

There was a small silence, and Matthias watched as Emil regarded him and wished he had a beer or something to occupy his attention with while under scrutiny. There were similarities between him and Lukas, the same strong jaw and soft set eyes, yet his nose was sharper and his lips less full. 

“I see. Well, I’m glad he has you.” Emil said finally then finished off the last dregs of his rum and coke. He put his glass down on the table then pointed to it, poised ready to get up from his stool.

“I’m gonna get another. You want one?” 

Matthias beamed and nodded, “Pint of Carlsberg, please.”

*

There were two more finished drinks glasses on the table between Matthias and Emil and the pub was now half empty by the time Lukas and Tino came back. They’d ended up talking about all kinds of things from Emil’s studies to Matthias’s secret love for reality TV as they drained their drinks, and Matthias could practically see Emil’s barrier coming down with each sip. 

“Hello.” Lukas said as he re-took his seat next to Emil, his drink now flat and all the ice had melted. He looked between Matthias and Emil as they stared at him and played with his straw.

“What?” 

Matthias hung his head to hide his amused smile as Emil threw his hands up in the air,

“You brought me to this party only to disappear upstairs with your boyfriend's brother in law and leave me sitting on my own?” he cried, though there was a smirk on his lips. 

Snapping his head up, Matthias caught Lukas’s wide eyed expression and hurried to correct Emil,

“Ah, we aren’t- I’m not his boyfriend.” he felt his ears burning as a blush broke out across his face. 

Emil scrunched his nose and stared at Lukas as though waiting for his version of their relationship, but he didn’t say anything and just shrugged, his own cheeks tinged pink. The fact that Lukas hadn’t flat out denied it made Matthias’s heart skip a beat as he took a large swig of his beer to stop himself from grinning like a fool. Before the conversation could go any further, Tino and Berwald came and stood at the end of the table, their hands loosely entwined. 

“We’re gonna turn in. Don’t wanna leave Peter alone upstairs, hope that’s okay?” Berwald said, and Tino looked apologetic. 

“Of course that’s okay, bro. You’re parents now, I totally get it. What time d’ya have to check out tomorrow?” Matthias said, then smiled as Berwald squeezed Tino’s hand.

“Not until 10. We’ll come and say bye before we leave of course.” Tino began, then let go of Berwald’s hand for a moment and produced a small envelope from his back pocket,

“Lukas, I’m not sure if we’ll see you tomorrow, so this is for you.” 

As he handed the envelope to Lukas, Berwald caught Matthias’s eye and winked at him ever so slightly. 

“I hope you can make it, and that it all goes well with the book, it’s a beautiful story.” Tino finished with a smile, then leaned into Berwald’s side as he wrapped his arm around him. They said their goodnights and then paid for their bar tab before taking themselves upstairs leaving Emil peering inquisitively at the envelope. Matthias knew exactly what it was and felt his throat dry as Lukas didn’t open it and instead just folded it and put it into his pocket. 

Emil’s mouth was slack as he looked between his brother and Matthias before he just laughed and shook his head, downing his drink and getting up from the table.

“Well, before this gets any more awkward I’m gonna turn in too. Nice to meet you, Matthias.” he said, giving Matthias a curt nod which he returned.

“Likewise. Night, bud.” he managed to say and just gawped as Emil and Lukas quickly signed to each other, and couldn't help but wonder what they'd said before Emil left. 

The bar was emptying now, and Matthias and Lukas were the last to remain from the birthday celebration table. A couple talked quietly at the table in the corner and three middle aged men laughed loudly with Michael behind the bar. 

Matthias was conscious of the fact that he was pretty drunk compared to Lukas who’d only had one drink, and he accidently slammed his glass down onto the table hard enough that he made himself jump.

“You don’t hafta come, Lukas. I know it’s prolly weird for them to invite you to their wedding, but Ber and Tino were jus’ being nice I promise!” he blurted out, anxiously waiting for Lukas to say something. Matthias’s leg was jittering nervously under the table as Lukas just looked at him for a moment in contemplation as he chewed on the straw in his drink.

“I’ll think about it.” he said eventually with the tiniest of smiles, and Matthias felt like he could cry at the fact that twice now Lukas hadn’t outright said no to something that involved the possibility of them actually moving past the ‘little more than friends’ phase.

He felt his bottom lip tremble as he looked at Lukas sitting before him, now aware of how drunk he was as vision blurred.

“Closing up in 15, Matthias.” Michael called from the bar, and Matthias fumbled to look at the time on his new watch, shocked at the fact it was nearly 1am. 

“C’mon, let’s get you home.” Lukas said softly as he abandoned his drink and walked around the table to Matthias. He slid his arm around Matthias’s waist and helped him up, keeping him steady as he began to sway. 

“This has been the best birthday ever, y’know that?” Matthias grinned as he held himself up, leaning on Lukas’s shoulders and twisting a couple of strands of his hair sloppily around his finger. 

It was still raining outside as they opened the door and Matthias called goodnight to Michael as they left. Lukas took his umbrella from where he’d left it by the entrance way and opened it up, holding it over them as they set off toward the canal. They walked in comfortable silence, the night still warm despite the rain, and by the time they reached their boats both of their outside facing shoulders were soaked from the rain dripping off the umbrella. 

Lukas stopped outside _The Sandpiper_ and held Matthias’s hand as he stepped across the gap between the bank and the deck and seizing the opportunity Matthias kissed the back of Lukas’s hand before letting go. 

“D’ya still wanna hang out tomorrow? Totally get it if ya don’t wanna. Didn’t expect ya to come tonight so don’t worry about doing anything-”

“Of course I do. Come knock on my boat when you’re ready to go, if you’re not too hungover that is.” Lukas said with a grin and spun the umbrella handle between his fingers.

Matthias laughed, “But ya won’t hear me knock.” 

Pushing his wet hair that had fallen in his eyes out of the way, Matthias fished around in his pocket for his phone,

“Here. Gimme your number.” he said as he held his phone out and watched as Lukas hesitantly took it and slowly tapped his number in with his thumb before passing it back, 

In that moment, though his drunken haze, Lukas dressed in his smarts before him on the towpath was the most wonderful sight, and if it hadn’t been for the fact that his number was now in his phone Matthias thought that he could be dreaming.

“Goodnight Matthias.” Lukas said as he turned to leave, and Matthias waved after him,

“G’night, Lukas.” 

Only once he’d stepped onto the deck of  _ Skidbladnir _ and then disappeared below deck did Matthias unlock the doors to his own boat, fumbling in the darkness for the lightswitch before he just gave up entirely and picked his way through the boat, stubbing his toe on the coffee table as he went. Once in his bedroom Matthias peeled his wet clothes off and left them in a heap on the floor then dove under the covers. Lying on his back, Matthias unlocked his phone again and stared at the contact that Lukas had created for himself, grinning wildly to himself in the dark at the sight of the little heart emoji that Lukas had typed beside his name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_z4tlk_WBM
> 
> I'm just gonna leave the link to the song used in the chapter and run away cause it's so _cringey_
> 
> I really hope that this chapter works, I'm not sure that it came across how I wanted it to aaaa hopefully you like it ;w;
> 
> Thanks for reading :')
> 
> -lumassen x


	11. Chapter 11 - The Illustrator

**Chapter 11 - The Illustrator**

Matthias felt a little emotional as he stood on the edge of the car park as Tino backed his car out of the parking space. He beeped the horn and Peter stuck his head out of the rolled down back window, waving goodbye frantically to Matthias who waved back with the same amount of vigor.

"Bye Uncle Matthias!" he called as the car turned out of the car park and sped away, his voice trailing on the wind, leaving Matthias stood watching the dust settle in its wake. 

After reminiscing so much last night about their youth, Matthias couldn't help but think about the fact that the next time he saw his brother it would be at his wedding. 

The breeze blew lightly around him as he made his way back to his boat and watched as the hazy, summer morning light reflected off the canal. It was going to be hot today, Matthias could tell, and a sweat was already breaking across the back of his neck. But it was summer, Matthias's favourite season, and the days were still getting longer. 

Without the smoke coming from the chimney of Lukas's boat anymore as there was no need for him to have the woodburner lit when it was this warm, Matthias had no way of knowing if he was awake yet or not. Stopping to sit on the bench opposite the moorings on the towpath, Matthias pulled his phone from his pocket and opened up a new text conversation. In a world where texting and instant messaging was the norm, Matthias wasn't sure why the thought of having Lukas's number meant so much to him as he stared at the pixels of his name on the screen for a moment before his thumbs began to type a message out.

' _ Rise and shine, Lukas!'  _

Smiling a little as he sent the text message, once it had been delivered Matthias raised his head to look at Lukas's boat, imagining what he might be doing inside. If he were to close his eyes, Matthias would be able to see Lukas standing over the stove while flipping eggs in a pan, or perhaps curled up on the sofa with a mug of coffee between his fingers while he gazed out of the window and across the water, or maybe even hunched on his stool over one of his many easels, his soft, blonde hair cascading over his face-

The vibrating of his phone in his hand brought Matthias from his thoughts.

‘ _ How does it feel to be another year older AND hungover?’ _

Matthias chuckled at the message, hearing Lukas's voice in his mind as he read it.

‘ _ Go get a change of clothes and meet me on the towpath.’ _

Another message came through before Matthias had a chance to respond and he read over it a couple of times, puzzled, before standing up and sauntering over to  _ The Sandpiper _ . As he tapped his hand above the door in greeting, Matthias felt a prick on his palm, and once inside he inspected it closer to find a small splinter embedded within his skin. Sticking his head back out again, Matthias peered at the wood of the boat above the door and his eyes widened when he realised that the green paint had now completely worn away revealing the timber door frame beneath. 7 years worth of love for his boat was focused in that one spot, and Matthias made a mental note to sand down the rough wood and repaint it at some point.

Leaving the doors open to allow a breeze to blow through the boat Matthias quickly made his bed and smoothed out the duvet before pulling his rucksack out from the bottom of the small closet in his sleeping quarters. It was late morning and Matthias had yet to eat anything, his stomach rumbling a little as he shoved a pair of flannel shorts and a t-shirt into the rucksack. He had no idea what Lukas had planned and couldn’t for the life of him think why he would need a spare change of clothes, but he trusted Lukas. Plus, the fact that he’d clearly put thought into this outing filled Matthias with happiness. 

Zipping his rucksack closed and throwing it over his shoulders, Matthias closed the closet and made his way through the boat to the galley. From the fridge he grabbed the carton of orange juice, a half eaten pack of cured meat and the tub of margarine. Then, he placed the foodstuffs into a bag along with the rest of the sliced loaf that he had in the breadbin. 

Deciding that it was best not to suffer another splinter, Matthias instead whispered ‘see ya later’ under his breath to  _ The Sandpiper _ as he closed and locked the doors and leapt across to the towpath. 

Lukas now stood beside  _ Skidbladnir _ , a soft smile gracing his features as the breeze tangled itself within his curls and Matthias felt his heart swell at the sight of him.

“Mornin’,” he said through his grin as he stopped in front of Lukas, “So, where we off to?”

Lukas’s smile turned smug as he turned to hop across the gap between his boat and the bank, “Ah, well, that would be telling.” Matthias heard him say as he followed suit, setting down his rucksack and the bag of food down on the deck.  _ Skidbladnir _ ’s doors were open and Freyr lay stretched out on the middle step leading down below deck, his eyes slowly blinking up at Matthias as he purred away in content. 

“Aw c’mon, not even a hint? What do I need spare clothes for?” Matthias continued to ask questions as he placed his palms out flat on the roof behind him then hoisted himself up to sit cross legged just above the door.

Lukas didn’t respond and instead busied himself with starting the engine, and Matthias watched as he turned the dials on the control panel. Since being at the helm of  _ The Sandpiper _ , Matthias hadn’t been able to forget the feeling of bringing a narrowboat to life. The pleasure found in the anticipation of waiting while holding down on the heat before turning the key in the ignition as the engine rumbled to life, low and throaty, was hard to understand until you’d done it yourself Matthias thought as he felt the roof vibrate beneath him. 

Lukas had already untied  _ Skidbladnir  _ from the mooring post, and so once the engine was ticking over nicely he pushed away from the riverbank and guided the boat out onto the canal. 

“Thanks for coming last night.” Matthias said, raising his voice ever so slightly and making sure to enunciate his words clearly so that Lukas could hear him over the engine. 

Lukas shrugged and cast his gaze out down the canal, leaning a little lazily on the tiller,

“Well, it beat sitting watching Emil stare at his phone all evening.” he said, and Matthias’s smile slipped from his face. Upon noticing, Lukas rolled his eyes and shook his head,

“I’m  _ joking,  _ Matthias _.  _ I’m glad I came.” 

The sun was warm on Matthias’s back as they continued up the canal, and after a while his legs began to fall asleep from being crossed beneath him and so he stretched them out, swinging them gently over the side of the roof.

“How come you went up with Peter and Tino at one point? Or did I imagine that?” Matthias asked, scratching at the back of his head as Lukas glanced at him.

He hesitated for a moment before dropping his gaze to the deck beneath his feet.

“I needed a child’s opinion on my book, so Tino let me tell Peter the story as he put him to bed. Tino’s nice, and Berwald too. They liked it.”

Matthias couldn’t help but allow his grin from earlier return to his face as Lukas met his gaze, peering up at him from beneath his hair. 

“Yeah, they’re really great. Your brother is too. Where is he today?” Matthias said as he leaned back a little more on the roof.

There was a pause in the conversation as Lukas focused his attention on navigating them around a curve in the canal. Once they were straightened up again, Lukas relaxed a little and let go of the tiller.

“He’s gone to see some friends for a few days, they live down in Bournemouth, but he’ll be back before his new term starts.” 

A silence fell around them for a little while as they watched the world pass by, cruising the cut slowly until Matthias couldn’t ignore his hunger any longer. Sliding down off the roof, he took the bag of food below deck and made up some sandwiches for he and Lukas. Freyr rubbed up against his legs and got under his feet while begging for a tid-bit, and only stopped when Matthias ‘accidentally’ dropped a piece of salami on the floor that was soon gobbled up.

While Lukas ate his sandwiches, Matthias took over navigating  _ Skidbladnir _ and revelled in the feeling of being at the helm again. A couple other narrowboats chugged by, Matthias waving at their helmsman as they passed and enjoyed reading the names of the boats.

The deck above the engine bay was starting to get warm beneath his feet, and Matthias was about to ask how much farther they were headed when Lukas jumped down off the roof and pointed to a mooring just up ahead. 

“Do you wanna moor her up or shall I?” Lukas asked casually, and Matthias puffed out his chest.

“I’ll do it.”

Lowering the throttle just like he’d seen Lukas do on a couple of occasions now, Matthias slowed  _ Skidbladnir _ down. The water churned fiercely around them as Matthias bit his lip as he bumped the sides of the boat a little too hard against the riverbank, causing  _ Skidbladnir _ to jolt a little, but Lukas didn’t seem to care as he took hold of the towrope and jumped across to the bank. Once Matthias was satisfied that he was close enough to the bank he killed the engine just as Lukas had finished tying the rope.

“Not bad for a novice, eh?” Matthias said triumphantly as he handed Lukas his bag and shrugged his own onto his shoulders. He locked the doors of the boat before stepping off to join Lukas on the towpath and fiddled with tightening the strap on his rucksack for a moment.

“7 years on the water and you still call yourself a novice?” Lukas teased as he set off walking down the towpath. 

They’d stopped at the edge of a woodland area, the shadows cast by the trees seeming darker than usual in comparison with the bright sunshine. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and so Matthias welcomed a break from the beating sun as Lukas turned off the path and began to follow a small trail leading into the woods.

“Woah, this is so pretty, Lu. Where are we?” Matthias said as he concentrated on watching where he was walking as tree branches sprawled out underfoot.

“We’re on the other side of Hebden Bridge. I’ve wanted to come here for a while.” was all Lukas said as he led Matthias deeper into the wood. The earthy freshness of the woodland air filled Matthias’s lungs as he took in a deep breath, admiring the way the light dappled through the trees. They walked for a little while longer until Matthias heard the sound of rushing water in the distance. 

“Can you hear that?” he asked, and Lukas turned to look over his shoulder, brow raised, 

“Hear what?” 

Matthias felt his cheeks heat a little at the fact that he’d forgotten for a moment that Lukas probably wouldn’t be able to.

“I can hear rushing water, like a waterfall or some...thing.”

As they emerged into a clearing, Matthias’s words were replaced with a sharp inhale when his eyes fell upon a natural pool that had formed beneath trickling waterfalls within the rocks. Despite the waterfalls, the pool was still and sparkled under the streams of light that broke through the tree canopy. 

“Lukas, did you know about this?” Matthias asked, turning to Lukas beside him with wide eyes and watched as Lukas tore his eyes away from the waterfall to look at him and nodded.

“Do you like it?” 

Matthias laughed and shook his head incredulously. 

“Do I  _ like _ it? Bud, this is so cool!”

Now suddenly aware of why Lukas had suggested bringing a change of clothes, Matthias wasted no time in tossing his rucksack to the mossy ground and kicking his shoes off.

“Last one in up to their neck is a loser!” he cried as he scrambled to pull his socks from his feet and grinned wildly as Lukas put his bag down and did the same. Hardly stopping to wait for Lukas, Matthias pulled his t-shirt off over his head and hobbled barefoot over the pebbles lining the edge of the pool, nearly slipping on their algae covered surface and grimacing a little as the cold water sent goosebumps over his skin. He was just wading in up to his waist when a shadow crossed over the top of him and Matthias looked up just in time to catch Lukas jump off one of the rocks at the side of the pool. He landed in the water with a splash, sending a wave of water over Matthias before emerging from below the surface seconds later with a victorious smirk plastered all over his face. 

In that moment, the Lukas before him seemed brand new. His smile lit up his face as he slicked his wet hair back from his face, cheeks flushed from the rush of the sudden cold water against his skin and eyes sparkling as the light reflecting off the water danced within them. 

“I win.” he said, flicking droplets of water in Matthias’s face.

“You cheated! I didn’t know you were gonna jump from a damn rock!” Matthias protested until he realised that Lukas couldn’t hear him, his hearing aids missing from his ears and no doubt discarded among his clothes to stop them getting damaged in the water. To anyone else it might have been awkward, but Matthias only felt happiness as he brought his hand up to cup Lukas’s cheek and ran his finger behind his ear where his hearing aids would usually sit. He remembered how Lukas had said that he would sometimes rather not wear them and how Matthias had said that he didn’t have to wear them around him if he didn’t want to. 

There was no need for words to be said as Matthias watched the smugness from Lukas’s expression fade as his lips parted softly before leaning forward to press them against his own. A shiver ran up Matthias’s spine as Lukas brought both of his hands up to place them around the back of his neck and pulled him in closer. Their kiss quickly became deeper, passionate, and Matthias allowed his hand to wander down over Lukas’s shoulder, collarbone, chest, until it came to a stop on his hip where it stayed as he ran his fingers beneath the water along the waistband of Lukas’s shorts. 

Even the rushing of the waterfall was drowned out as the world around them faded when Matthias closed his eyes and let himself be entirely taken by Lukas, who’s own hands had found their way across his back. By the time Lukas pulled away his breathing was heavy, and Matthias watched as the water on his bare chest glistened as it rose and fell. Still with his hands snaked around his back, Lukas held Matthias close to him and Matthias felt him shudder as he began to leave gentle kisses down his neck and along his jaw until eventually Matthias stopped to gaze into his eyes, their foreheads pressed together. 

“Matthias, I-” Lukas began to speak, his mouth not quite forming around Matthias’s name, but Matthias just shook his head and silenced him with another kiss, slow and sweet, wanting to just enjoy this moment that was theirs and theirs alone, just the two of them, Matthias now feeling part of Lukas's own little world. 

*

Once they’d both started to get wrinkly fingers from being in the water too long, Matthias and Lukas walked hand in hand back to  _ Skidbladnir _ , strolling slowly along the trail that lead to the towpath, not even bothering to change into their clean clothes and instead just let the heat of the summer afternoon dry them off. Lukas’s hair was growing curlier by the minute as it dried and his pale skin broke out in a sunkissed blush that Matthias couldn't take his eyes off. Neither of them had said a word to each other, they hadn’t needed to, and Lukas only put his hearing aids back in when they reached his boat. 

“Lukas, that was wonderful.  _ You’re _ wonderful,” Matthias gushed, taking hold of Lukas’s hand once more and clasping it between both of his. 

“I just- I wanted you to know that.”

Words tumbled from his mouth, and there were so many more that Matthias wanted to say, but couldn’t string them together quick enough. 

Lukas hung his head a little, though he squeezed Matthias’s hand as he held it. 

In Lukas’s absence of words, Matthias couldn’t help but wonder what he was going to say earlier and wished that he hadn’t stopped him. It was almost as if whatever he was about to say, Lukas didn’t want to hear Matthias’s answer, and as much as Matthias wanted to press him, he knew that it would be no good. 

“I mean it, Lukas. Even if this is just for the summer.”

Glancing up at Matthias, Lukas searched his face for a moment, studying his expression, until he sighed. 

“You’re wonderful too, Matthias. More than you know.”

\-------

It was nearly dark by the time  _ Skidbladnir  _ was back on her residential mooring, and Matthias stifled a yawn as he finished the last of the cone of chips that he’d shared with Lukas once they’d got back to Mytholm. Once they’d dried off and changed into fresh clothes, Lukas and Matthias had spent the rest of the day wandering Hebden Bridge. They’d left the boat moored on the towpath and walked in the sun for the half or mile or so until they reached the edge of the town. Lukas bought a couple of second hand books from the various thrift stores that they’d browsed and on their way home read a couple chapters of one of them aloud to Matthias as he let him navigate  _ Skidbladnir _ all the way back to Mytholm. 

“Well, it’s getting late.” Matthias said as he tossed the now empty polystyrene cone into the bin beside the same bench that he’d sat on this morning opposite their boats. Despite the dusky sky still displaying the last rays of sunlight, it was nearing 10pm and Matthias’s bare legs were becoming a feast for the gnats that danced around in the low light. 

Lukas hummed in response as they stood up and prepared to turn in for the night. 

“It’s been nice having a couple days off, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a weekday off, and these past three days have been awesome.” Matthias stretched as he spoke, lifting his arms high above his head and reaching up on his tip-toes before letting them swing back down again by his side. 

“Whatcha doin’ tomorrow? Feel like spendin’ a lazy Sunday with me?” 

At the suggestion, Lukas smiled and the faintest of pink coloured his cheeks but he shook his head,

“I’d love to, but I can’t, I’m sorry. I’m going to be away for a couple of days now.” Lukas mumbled quietly, and Matthias felt his heart plummet. His worry must have displayed on his face as Lukas hurried to reassure him,

“I’m only going to Birmingham, I have a meeting with a publishing company. I wanted to ask your permission actually, because it’s about my book.”

Matthias blinked at him,

“You mean The Ljosalfar? You’re gonna publish it?”

Lukas nodded slowly and Matthias grinned from ear to ear.

“I wondered if it would be okay with you if I did, it is based off you after all, and the publishers seem to really like it. I’ve never had this much interest before on any of my other books.”

Elated, Matthias took hold of Lukas’s slight shoulders and squeezed them gently,

“Of  _ course _ that’s okay with me, Lu! Why didntcha say anything before now?” he cried, his hands slipping from Lukas’s shoulders as he shrugged them.

“I’m a little nervous, I suppose.”

Matthias’s grin shrank down to a soft smile as he looked at Lukas, then he reached into his pocket and clasped his hand around the cool metal of the gift that he’d picked up today for Lukas while he was distracted browsing the books. He planned to give it to him at some point, but decided that now was as good a time as any.

“Well you don’t need to be. You’re an amazing artist, Lukas, and they’re gonna love you.” Matthias said, his voice gentle as he took his hand from his pocket and fiddled with the clasp of the hairpin in his hands,

“Here. I got this for you. I thought it would look nice, and it would make anyone who judges you think twice about it by showing off a part of you that you don't need to hide.”

His hand trembled a little as he swept Lukas’s hair back and tucked it behind his ear, then slid the hairpin into place and closed the clasp. Now that his hair was held back, Lukas’s hearing aid was no longer hidden, and the silver colour of the cross shape pin complimented the pale curls that fell around his face. 

At first, Lukas looked a little stunned as he brought his hand up to run his fingers across the hairpin until he smiled so widely that his nose scrunched a little and his eyes creased. Taking his hand away from his hair and bringing it to his chin, Lukas signed ‘thank you’ before pressing a kiss to Matthias’s cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> google 'lumb falls, hebden bridge' if you wanna see the waterfall and pool that I wrote into this chapter. It's stunning, and I'm can't believe I wrote one of my favourite irl places into a fanfic lol
> 
> But yeah, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, we're getting close to the end of the story now with probably three or four chapters to go which is why I dragged out posting this one :')
> 
> Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all next chapter!
> 
> -lumassen x


	12. Chapter 12 - Saving Skidbladnir

**Chapter 12 - Saving Skidbladnir**

The wind rippled across the canal as Matthias stepped out from below deck with a bucket of warm soapy water and a scrubbing brush in hand. It was early Wednesday evening, 4:30pm, and Matthias had finished his shift at the post office to a text from Lukas apologising that his train back to Mytholm was delayed and asking if he wouldn’t mind feeding Freyr again this evening as he would be back late. 

He’d been dropping in on the white fluffy cat twice a day since Sunday afternoon when Lukas left to catch the train down to Birmingham, leaving Matthias with the keys to _Skidbladnir_ and a short list of care instructions for Freyr. Matthias had of course agreed and sent Lukas a text back asking how his trip to Birmingham had gone but in true Lukas fashion, even through text messages, he didn’t let on much and had only said that it had gone well and that he’d tell him more about it when he was home.

Though it wasn’t quite as much information as Matthias had hoped for, he was at least satisfied that the trip hadn’t gone badly for Lukas.

Humming a tune to himself, Matthias put the bucket of water onto the roof and then climbed up. The evening sun was still bright in the sky, but the wind had brought a slight chill, and goosebumps caused the hair on Matthias’s bare arms to stand on end as he picked the bucket up again and crossed the roof to the other end of _The Sandpiper._ Though he was a little chilly now, he was sure that once he’d scrubbed the roof clean of the grime that had accumulated over the years that he wouldn’t be for long. 

Kneeling down, Matthias dipped the scrubbing brush into the warm water and set to work, starting at the front of the boat and working his way toward the back. Surprisingly the dirt wasn’t too hard to lift, but Matthias’s shorts were soon blackened and his t-shirt was dampening as a sweat broke out across his back. Now glad of the wind blowing over him and cooing him down a little, Matthias stopped scrubbing once he was little over half way down the roof and sat back on his haunches to wipe his brow on the back of his arm. 

He sat for a moment and looked out over the water then at _Skidbladnir_ and shook his head with a small smile as he wondered how on earth Lukas managed to keep the roof of his boat so clean. The days spent on the roof of _Skidbladnir_ were what had inspired Matthias to clean the roof of _The Sandpiper,_ and he couldn’t wait to show Lukas. He’d even gone as far as buying some solar powered string lights that he planned to run along the edges of the boat. Now that he’d cooled down a little, Matthias was just about to return to scrubbing the rest of the roof when he heard someone clear their throat from behind him on the towpath.

Turning to look over his shoulder, Matthias noticed a woman in a smart skirt and blazer standing beside _The Sandpiper_ , a clipboard in the crook of her arm.

“Hi, sorry to bother you, but I’m looking for a Mr Lukas Thomassen?” she said with a small smile, and Matthias stood up, dropping the scrubbing brush at his feet. He looked at her for a moment, feeling the back of his throat grow dry. 

“Sorry, ma’am, I can’t say I know ‘em.” Matthias shrugged then cleared his throat.

He remained standing on the roof, looking down at the woman as she sighed and scribbled something on her clipboard before turning her attention back to Matthias.

“Do you know who that boat belongs to, then?” 

She nodded slightly toward _Skidbladnir_ as she spoke, and Matthias slid his hand into the back pocket of his jean shorts to brush his fingers against the keys protectively. 

“I mean, I’ve seen them, but I don’t know them.” he began, keeping his voice light, “They only moored here a couple days ago. I don’t think they’ll stay long.”

Matthias watched as the woman nodded, an almost reluctant expression on her face, before continuing up the towpath and stepping onto the deck of _Skidbladnir._ She knocked on the door a couple of times, then when there was no answer she stepped off again and inspected the damage on the side. Pretending to be disinterested, Matthias knelt down again and picked up the scrubbing brush once more, glancing up every now and again at the woman as he resumed cleaning the roof of _The Sandpiper._

She finished writing on her clipboard, and Matthias lowered his head and focused on the roof when she began to make her way back over. 

“Would you mind giving this to Mr Thomassen for me if you see him, please?” she said, stopping beside Matthias and extending a hand out toward him. He looked up and sat back, regarding her for a moment before taking the business card from her hand. 

“Sure. No worries.” he forced a friendly smile and pocketed the card beside Lukas’s keys before dropping his gaze back to the scrubbing brush in his hand. 

Once the woman had gone and Matthias was sure that she was out of sight, he tossed the brush into the bucket of water and stood up. Jumping down onto the towpath, he took the keys to _Skidbladnir_ from his pocket and opened it up. 

Freyr came rushing out onto the deck as soon as the door opened and circled around Matthias’s legs, rubbing himself up against them. Picking him up and carrying him down below deck, Matthias stood in the doorway for a moment and looked down through Lukas’s boat, scratching behind Freyr’s ear and listening to him purring away.

“What’re we gonna do, eh, Freyr?” he muttered, sighing through his nose and letting his eyes wander over Lukas’s belongings, over the pictures on the wall, the trinkets and ornaments on the side table, the pile of sketches on the couch end. Lukas’s entire life was before him, all contained onboard _Skidbladnir,_ and even though he wasn’t here Matthias could feel Lukas’s presence as if he were part of the four walls around him. 

After a little while, Matthias realised that he’d been standing lost in his thoughts when Freyr started to wiggle free from his arms, and so he put him down gently and crossed the galley to the couch and began to sift through the pile of papers. He knew what he was looking for, and knew that it would be there, yet still when he pulled out the brown envelope out from within the pile he felt his face contort into a frown. 

Though now dogeared at the corners and covered in splodges of paint, the letter still remained unopened, and Matthias held it in his hands tightly as though it were heavy as he stared at it. Setting it down on top of the pile, Matthias pulled the business card from his pocket and read over it.

  
  


_-Lucy Portwood-_

_Green Door Debt Recovery Solicitors_

_Tel: 0161 900 222_

  
  


Matthias was startled and turned on the spot when he heard the doors of the boat open. He tossed the card down on top of the letter and squared up toward the door, taking a step forward. 

“Did you follow me? Look, Mr Thomassen isn’t here, so I suggest that you-”

Expecting to see the woman again in the doorway, Matthias was instead surprised to see Emil staring at him as he made his way below deck and closed the doors behind him. He had a large rucksack across his shoulders and a duffel bag in his hand as he stood looking at Matthias with a raised brow.

“Who’s following you? Where’s Lukas?” Emil questioned as he began to set his bags down and take his shoes off. Matthias stood for a moment with his mouth agape before he hurried to respond.

“Er, no one. Just Manon, from the other boat messing around. And Lukas’s train’s been delayed, he’ll be back later.” he said with a smile, stepping away from the couch and over to the galley,

“I’ve been feeding Freyr while he’s been away.” Matthias continued as he picked up Freyr’s food dish and set it down on the counter while he filled it with fresh kibble and replaced his water with fresh. Out of the corner of his eye, Matthias watched Emil as he rummaged around in his rucksack and debated telling him about the debt recovery agent, but it wasn’t his place to say anything. No matter how much it worried him, Lukas had his own reasons for choosing not to tell his brother, and it wasn’t down to Matthias to say anything and break Lukas’s trust when he confided in him. 

Opting for small talk instead while he gave Freyr his food, Matthias leant on the counter,

“So, are you back to stay for a while?” he asked Emil.

“Only until Friday afternoon, then I’m getting the train back to Uni.” Emil said with a small shrug as he took himself into the saloon and flopped down on the couch. 

Once sat down, Emil pulled out his phone and his thumbs flew across the screen, only looking up when Matthias moved to stand in front of him.

“Here, suppose I might as well give these to ya,” 

Holding out the keys to Emil, Matthias grinned at him, but it soon faltered when Emil didn’t take the keys from him and instead returned his attention back to his phone.

“Do you not wanna wait for Lukas to get back?” he said, the tone to his voice casual as though he assumed that was Matthias’s intention, and Matthias laughed a little as he put the keys back in his pocket.

“I mean, yeah sure I guess I could, if you don’t mind.” 

“Course not.” Emil mumbled as he shook his head, though Matthias couldn’t help but feel just a little awkward and unsure of what to do with himself.

“Can I get you a drink or anything?” he offered as he made his way back over to the galley, and when he glanced over his shoulder he could see that Emil had not only looked up from his phone, but instead had put it down altogether beside him on the couch cushions. 

“Er, Sure, there should be a couple cans of coke in the fridge. I’ll have one of those, thanks.” Emil said, then hurried to continue as Matthias bent down and opened the fridge, “You get one too, of course.” 

Smiling to himself as he reached to the back of the fridge, Matthias grabbed two cans and then kicked the fridge door closed with his foot before sitting himself down on the couch beside Emil.

They cracked them open in unison and both took a sip, a small silence filling the air between them until Emil shifted on the couch and pulled his legs up to cross them and turned to face Matthias a little more.

“So what made you wanna live on a boat then?” he asked, his expression inquisitive. 

Matthias took another sip of coke as he thought about the answer, feeling the fizz tickle at the back of his throat.

“I never really planned to. I knew I wanted to move out, but I didn’t really wanna go to uni to study anything and I couldn’t afford to rent somewhere by myself,” he began, running a hand through his hair and leaning deeper into the couch,

“I didn’t like the idea of a house share, especially with people that I didn’t really know, y’know? So I saw a narrowboat one day when I was on a morning run and decided to head down by the canal and I just thought it would be cool. So I hopped online and started looking at them for sale, and then when I saw _The Sandpiper_ listed on ebay all banged up and not in a good condition I knew that I had to make her my project. So here we are!” he finished, gesturing to the canal outside the window with a flourish of his hand.

Emil had a small smile on his face as he looked down into his can of coke,

“No wonder Lukas likes you so much.” he said quietly, and Matthias prodded him in the arm,

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” 

Emil’s expression grew a little wistful when he looked up at Matthias, the smile tugging a little more at the corners of his mouth,

“I dunno, I guess it’s just the way that you refer to your boat as a ‘her’, and that you feel like, a connection to it or something. My brother is the same, yet I never really understood it. I just thought it was yet another weird thing about him.” he said with a light laugh.

“It’s not weird, is it? I love my boat! I love Lukas’s too!” Matthias beamed, and Emil just rolled his eyes and smirked, but then his expression changed yet again. There was another silence as Emil regarded Matthias for a moment, and it was as though Matthias could see the words forming in his mouth that he wanted to say as he chewed on the inside of his cheek.

“Do you know what happened to _Skidbladnir?_ ” he said eventually, his voice low and laced with concern.

At first the question took Matthias aback, yet he knew that Emil must have been alarmed by the sight of Lukas’s boat just as he was when he first saw it. Glancing at the letter and the business card still laying on top of the piles of papers on the couch arm, Matthias wanted to tell Emil the truth and express his worry for Lukas, but knew that he shouldn’t. Again, it wasn’t his place.

“Ah, you mean the damage on the side? Don’t worry about that. It’s all my fault actually, I need to pay to get it fixed,” Matthias said as he faked a guilty expression and tone of voice,

“We were out on the canal and Lukas was taking a break from the tiller, so I offered to guide us through a lock and misjudged it. I scraped the paint and woodwork against the side of the lock. Lukas was pretty pissed.” he finished with an awkward laugh, hoping that Emil would buy the story. 

His eyes were narrowed and clearly he didn’t believe him, but he chose not to question him and instead just nodded and finished the rest of his drink. He was just about to stand up when Matthias stopped him, moving so that he was facing him fully and sitting on the edge of the couch.

“Emil, can I ask for your help with something?” Matthias said, clasping his hands in front of his chest,

Emil didn’t say anything, but stopped what he was doing and just looked at Matthias and raised an eyebrow as though to show that he was listening,

“Will you teach me a couple of signs? Please? I’ve been trying to learn online but I have some questions…” Matthias trailed off, pinned beneath Emil’s gaze. 

It was as though he was staring right into him, trying to work out his thoughts, motives, intentions, until eventually he sighed and stood up so that he was in front of Matthias in the middle of the saloon. 

“Alright, what d’ya want to learn?” 

  
  


\--------

By the time Emil had gone through the first couple of signs that he wanted to learn, Matthias had already forgotten them when they moved on to the next lot. In the end he ended up getting his phone out and recording a video of Emil standing in front of him demonstrating the signs while describing what they were. 

When Emil finished, Matthias stopped recording and put his phone back in his pocket. 

“It’s cool that you want to learn, but BSL can be complicated. I haven’t even taught you how to understand responses to the questions and phrases that you wanted to know,” 

Matthias sighed, slightly disheartened, 

“I know. I just really wanted to try. How long did it take you to learn?”

Emil shrugged, 

“I’m still learning now, but I started getting taught when I was really little and Lukas first went deaf. You can’t learn overnight, Matthias, but I’m sure Lukas will be happy that you at least want to try.” he said, with a kind smile.

But before Matthias could respond and tell Emil how grateful he was, the doors opened and Lukas rushed in. Emil turned around and Matthias peered over Emil’s shoulder to look at Lukas as he kicked his shoes off and smoothed down his windswept hair.

“Hi. Sorry I’m late.” 

Lukas took his satchel off and set it down before pulling Emil in for a quick hug as he approached him, and instead of signing he asked Emil how his time down in Bournemouth was. At first Emil responded with both sign and speech until he dropped his hands and just spoke. After trying to learn just the basics, Matthias was amazed by how easily Emil and Lukas could switch between using BSL and spoken English.

Lukas fussed over Emil while he picked his bags up that he’d left strewn by the door and asked him to take them into the bedroom out of the way. Matthias bit back laughter as he caught sight of Emil’s scowl on his face as he turned away from Lukas and pushed past him to get to the bedroom, struggling through the narrow doorway with his arms full with his bags.

“Hey, welcome home.” Matthias greeted Lukas with a broad smile once he approached him. 

He was wearing the hairpin, his hair pulled back neatly on one side away from his face, and Matthias couldn’t help but smile even wider.

“Thanks for watching _Skidbladnir_ and Freyr for me. Was everything alright?” Lukas asked tentatively, and Matthias felt his heart plummet. He knew that he should tell Lukas about the woman who came asking after him eventually, but right now wasn’t the time for it.

“Yep. Everything was fine.” he said, then dug Lukas’s keys out from his pocket and handed them to him, “I _was_ gonna take _Skidbladnir_ out for a cruise, but I thought I’d wait for you to take me somewhere instead.” 

Matthias winked playfully at Lukas as he handed him the keys.

“Oh yeah? Well perhaps I’d like it if you played Captain and decided where we go next.” Lukas said, his tone equally as playful. 

“Well I doubt much could top Lumb Falls, but leave it with me and I’ll see what I can come up with. So, how’d it go?” Matthias pressed, dying to know how Lukas had got on in Birmingham.

Lukas hesitated for a moment before leaving Matthias’s side and opening his bedroom door to poke his head inside. Matthias listened to his muffled voice drifting from the bedroom as he explained to Emil that he was just going to walk him back to _The Sandpiper_ then go to the store to buy ingredients for dinner. 

Taking the hint, Matthias led them out of _Skidbladnir_ , tapping above the door as he ducked his head below the doorframe then jumped across onto the towpath. 

The wind had picked up, and the blades of long grass along the sides of the riverbank were swaying in the breeze and dandelion puffs blew onto the water, scattered across the dark surface like tiny stars. 

“There isn’t much to say other than they liked it.” Lukas said once he’d joined Matthias on the towpath. His expression was hopeful and his tone light, and Matthias couldn’t help but beam at him.

“They suggested a few small changes to the story and the concept art, but other than that they didn’t have many critiques. Someone’s going to email me next week with a proposal and a contract to publish with them if they manage to pitch at the quarterly meeting on Monday. I’ve illustrated many times for authors and publishers, but I’ve never written anything, so I’m still a little nervous.”

Lukas chewed at a loose piece of skin around his fingernail as he spoke, and didn’t meet Matthias’s gaze until he’d finished. 

“Lukas, don’t be nervous!” he cried, then returned his voice to a normal level when Lukas flinched, “I mean, I haven’t read the story but I’m sure if it’s even half as good as your art then it’ll be _incredible_ .” Matthias gushed as they set off walking towards _The Sandpiper_.

If Matthias said that he wasn’t curious or intrigued by Lukas’s story, especially as it was inspired by him, then he’d by lying. But this was Lukas’s job, his work, and as much as Matthias wanted to read it he knew that eventually Lukas would show him when he was ready, just as he had with the artwork, so he didn’t press him. 

“Thank you. That means a lot.” was all that Lukas said with a shy smile. 

There was a moment of anticipation and slight uncertainty as they stopped by _The Sandpiper_. Then, Matthias brought a hand up to brush Lukas’s hair from his face after noticing a piece had gotten stuck to his lip before he leaned in to kiss him. Even despite the fact that they’d shared a kiss more than a few times now, Matthias still felt as though he were floating when Lukas’s slightly chapped lips met his own and his nimble fingers found their way along his sides and over his back. 

Lukas pulled back and was startled when a small dog was suddenly at his heels, and Matthias watched and laughed as it’s owner came running over and took hold of it’s harness, pulling it away from them and apologising profusely.

“Do you want to come over for dinner?” Lukas offered, stepping back a little.

As much as Matthias would love to, he declined the offer with an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, I’d love to, but I got something important that I need to do. But maybe you could come over for dinner instead soon? I cleaned the roof for ya.” Matthias said and pointed behind him to the bucket that was still on the roof a little triumphantly.

Standing on his tiptoes, Lukas peered at the roof, seemingly impressed,

“Nice. How’s Friday night once Emil’s gone back home?” he suggested, and Matthias grinned.

“It’s a date.”

They parted ways with one final kiss before Lukas made his way into the village to catch the store before it closed. Matthias waited until he was around the corner before he stepped aboard _The Sandpiper_.

“Don’t hate me for this, Sandy.” he muttered to his boat as he tapped the door frame and went below deck. Taking a seat on the couch and grabbing his laptop from the coffee table, Matthias opened it and logged on then opened the web browser, his fingers poised over the keys. He paused for a moment to look around his boat and felt a lump form in his throat as he did so, but he swallowed it as he typed in a search.

Once he’d hit enter, the screen filled with at least 20 different independent narrowboat valuation specialists, and Matthias took a moment to look through them until he settled for the one with the highest customer reviews.

Taking his phone from his pocket, Matthias punched in their phone number and brought his phone to his ear.

The dialling tone buzzed in his ear for a couple of rings, then he drew in a short breath when someone answered. He hesitated, letting his eyes do a final sweep of his boat before speaking into the receiver,

“Hi, I’m hoping you could help. I’m looking to get my boat valued for possible sale, please?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the cliff hanger. But we have 2 chapters left to go. aaaaaaa.
> 
> Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for reading this fic and giving it so much love, I seriously love writing it for you all <3
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you all again soon for the next one!
> 
> -lumassen x


	13. Chapter 13 - The Lovers

**Chapter 13 - The Lovers**

"I can see that it looks like you've put a temporary seal on your stern tube. It'll do for now, but you're gonna have to get that fixed before you sell. There’s a bit of heat damage too, so you’ll need to get a mechanic to take a proper look." 

Matthias stood on the deck above the engine bay and watched as  _ The Sandpiper _ was put under scrutiny by Stuart from the Yorkshire Boatyard. He tinkered away with the engine, straightening up every few minutes to ask questions or to tell Matthias of anything significant that might affect the valuation.

“How old is she?” Stuart asked as he hoisted himself out from the engine bay and wiped his hands on his greasy overalls. 

Matthias shrugged and chewed on his lip,

“Honestly I don’t know. The previous owner didn’t have any of the paperwork when I bought her, but the engine is original if that helps.” he said, and Stuart nodded,

“I’d say late 90’s then, probably ‘97 or ‘98."

Picking up his clipboard from where he’d put it on the roof to inspect the engine, Stuart began to run through the valuation with Matthias. He noted that the wear above the door would need sanding and repainting to increase value, and that the bathroom tiles could do with re-grouting. He also mentioned that Matthias could either pay to get the bottom of that boat that sat below the water re-blacked himself, but that doing so wouldn’t really increase value and would instead make  _ The Sandpiper _ more desirable to a first time buyer. 

“I’ll get the official valuation over to you by email next...” Stuart paused for a moment and stopped writing to look at Matthias.

“Is it July next week? Wednesday will be the 1st, right?” he asked, then whistled when Matthias nodded.

“Sure is, bud. Summer is flying by too quickly, huh?” Matthias said, stealing a quick glance at  _ Skidbladnir  _ as Stuart ripped off the sheet of paper from his clipboard.

“Okay so your value estimate right now is £23,000 if you do those quick fixes like the paint above the door, but it could change a little once I get the paperwork that I requested from the dockmaster about your engine. I’ll email you by the 1st of July with the official valuation. If you choose to sell with us then this valuation is free, but if not I’ll send you an invoice through. Any questions, gimme a bell, okay mate? I got your email as densen1992@forum.dk  so I’ll send everything there.” 

Matthias smiled as he shook Stuart's hand and took the estimation paperwork from him, though he couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened with the valuation. He had hoped that  _ The Sandpiper _ might be worth a little more than just 23k especially after how much work he’d put into restoring her.

As Stuart stepped off  _ The Sandpiper _ and onto the towpath, Matthias followed him and pointed to  _ Skidbladnir _ .

“Whaddya think a boat like that is worth?” he said, and Stuart laughed.

“You thinking of upgrading, mate?” Stuart joked as he looked at Matthias with a grin, then returned his attention to  _ Skidbladnir _ and scratched his stubbly chin.

“Without seeing the inside it’s hard to say, but from here I can see it's been recently blacked, and the dual chimney’s suggest a full woodburner system which are all the rage at the minute, very rustic. Plus, it's easily a 70 footer whereas yours is a 56’er. I’d say you’re looking at £50k, easy.”

Feeling his heart sink a little lower, Matthias wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed that there wasn’t really a chance that the solicitors would consider claiming  _ The Sandpiper  _ as collateral over  _ Skidbladnir.  _

He shook Stuart's hand once more and watched him take his leave, waving him off as he got into his van and backed out of the Mytholm village car park. Then he looked down at the piece of paper in his hand and stood reading it for a moment. 

Matthias hadn’t seen the woman from the solicitors again, and Lukas hadn’t had any more mail since the final demand letter, but that didn’t mean that everything was forgotten about; Lukas was just good at keeping things to himself. There had been several occasions where Matthias had debated telling Lukas about the solicitor, but ever since he’d received the offer from the publishing company wanting to go ahead and publish his book he’d been so busy and seemed happier. Matthias didn’t want to be the one to ruin it all. 

But as the week passed, Matthias couldn’t stop thinking about the valuation, and only laid the idea to rest when the calendar rolled over the the 1st of July and the official email came in from Stuart confirming  _ The Sandpiper _ as being worth £23,750. In the end, after pacing the length of  _ The Sandpiper _ , Matthias decided that he just couldn’t get involved in Lukas’s business no matter how much he wanted to help. He deleted the email containing the quotation and paid the invoice for Stuart's time and the valuation and left it at that, hoping that Lukas knew what he was doing. 

As he worked for the rest of the week, Matthias couldn’t help but notice that word was beginning to spread about the speculated romance between Mytholm’s beloved postman and the quiet artist. Matthias never revealed much when asked, but people had started to warm to Lukas, and finally Matthias felt as though he was becoming part of the village. Yet the 31st of July loomed, and now that the visitor moorings had opened for the summer and people were spending weekends moored up in Mytholm, applications were starting to come in to be put on the waiting list for a residential spot. But although July brought with it the possibility of Lukas moving on, it also brought two events that Matthias was looking forward to sharing with Lukas while he still could.

As the rest of the week had gone by, Matthias had watched as the Mytholm sports field was slowly being transformed into the annual Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd music festival. By Thursday the main stage had been set up, and Matthias had woken up this morning to the sound check drifting across the village.

The first thing he’d done was roll over and grab his phone, blinking at it bleary eyed while he typed out a text to Lukas asking if he still wanted to go with him to the first day of the festival today, and the biggest of grins had stretched across his face when Lukas had said yes. 

Matthias had lazed the morning away with all of the windows thrown open and the fan on to try to combat the summer heat. Then, after eating lunch he showered and got dressed into a smart white linen shirt and chino shorts. But before leaving the bathroom, Matthias stood and practiced the signs in the mirror that he’d been learning from watching the video of Emil almost every other day until his phone buzzed in his pocket. 

‘ _ Ready to go? _ ’ the text from Lukas said, and Matthias hurried through into the galley, grabbing the picnic basket and the cool bag containing the beer and mixer cans that he’d bought. Then, he grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and tucked it under his arm while sliding his feet into his flip flops. The hot summer air hit him as he opened the doors and stepped out onto the deck and Matthias waved cheerily to Manon as she lay sunbathing on the towpath in a deck chair, chatting to the family who’d moored up in the visitor spot next to  _ Willow  _ for the weekend on their boat, _Celeste_.

Lukas was waiting for him on the bench opposite his boat, and Matthias beamed when he caught sight of him. Since working on the final version of his book, Lukas had been spending a lot of time in his usual spot on the roof of  _ Skidbladnir  _ over the past few weeks, and his skin had caught the sun as a result. His bare arms were a little darker than usual, the tip of his nose was sunburnt, and his head of soft curls seemed even paler blonde in comparison to his summer complexion. 

Hitching the cool bag a little further up his shoulder, Matthias free’d up his right hand by placing the picnic basket down on the towpath between them as Lukas stood up to greet him. Before Lukas could say anything, with a smile, Matthias brought his hand up just underneath his chin, palm flat and the back of his hand facing Lukas, then brought it from left to right before making a pointed finger with his hand and drawing a circle around his face in the air - his best attempt at BSL for ‘you look nice.’

Lukas smiled a little bashfully and signed back, his hand movements much smoother and more fluid as he quickly pointed from his eye toward Matthias, folded his finger in to form a thumbs up, then touched his two index fingers together side by side.

“You look good, too.” he said as he signed, his cheeks catching even more colour.

As Matthias picked up the picnic basket again, Lukas ran his hands through his hair, pulling it all back from his face, and Matthias waited for him while he tied it up with a hair tie that had been around his wrist before setting off down the towpath. Lukas held his hand out and motioned for Matthias to give him the picnic basket, and swung it gently to and fro as he carried it while they walked.

Now that his hair was away from his face, Matthias noticed that Lukas’s hearing aids were different. Instead of the moulds being clear, they were dark blue and the receiver over the back of his ear was grey rather than beige. 

“Hey, I like your hearing aids. They look smart. Didja get new ones?” he asked, then smiled when he caught Lukas’s expression, as though he were pleased that Matthias had noticed. 

Lukas shrugged, “I’ve had them for a couple weeks but I wasn’t sure about them at first. They’re a little more sensitive than my old phonaks, so I wanted to see if I could hear the music better today with them.” he said, glancing at Matthias as he spoke. 

Once off the towpath and onto the village high street, Lukas and Matthias joined a crowd of people, all probably heading to the field for the festival too. There was a buzz in the air, not a cloud in the sky, and Matthias could already feel the sun beating down on the back of his neck. He chatted with Lukas as they walked, Lukas telling Matthias about the feedback he’d received on the final submissions of the art for his book and that he just needed to finalise the story. It was great to hear him talking about something good, and Matthias happily listened to Lukas’s rambling until they reached the field. The event staff checked their tickets and bags at the gate before allowing them access onto the field. 

“Oh, it’s busier than I thought.” Lukas said as he stopped and looked across the field. The stage was at the far end, and already the grass was covered with people crowded onto blankets, sitting on lawn chairs or standing around drinking and chatting.

“Here, let's sit at the back. We can still hear from here and it’ll be less crowded.” Matthias suggested with a smile, taking Lukas’s hand and weaving through the people strewn across the grass. They found an empty spot and Matthias quickly laid out the blanket before anyone could beat him to it then settled down onto it. Lukas sat beside him cross legged and looked around adjusting his hearing aids a little. Matthias was quiet while he did so and got two beers out from the cooler and cracked them open. 

“Do you even know any of the bands playing today?” Lukas asked. He took his shoes off, placing them neatly at the edge of the blanket before taking a beer and leant back, his palm flat against the grass.

Matthias smirked and shook his head, “Not a clue. Usually they’re covers bands or retired teachers playing rock music, but it’s great.” 

Lukas laughed then took a sip of his beer, his expression relaxed and he cast his gaze ahead.

“So is this what’s to be expected of village life, then?” he said after a while.

Matthias turned to look at him, his own can of beer paused half way to his lips.

“Why, could you get used to it?” 

Lukas shrugged and looked into his beer can, swilling the liquid around inside and was just about to speak when someone called Matthias’s name from behind them.

“I knew I’d see you today! What a day for it, eh?” Dylan cheered as he crossed the field, his girlfriend in tow. He invited himself onto the blanket, and Lukas shuffled a little closer to Matthias and moved his shoes to make room for them as they sat down.

“Didja know that Gil was thinkin’ of coming?” Dylan said as he got settled, and Matthias sat up a little.

“Yo, really? He didn’t say anything to me!”

Dylan nodded as he took a swig from his bottle of cider. Despite it only being early afternoon, it clearly wasn’t his first bottle judging by his flushed cheeks and merry expression. 

“He said he’d text me if he did so we can meet up- Hey, ya don’t mind us joining you, right?” Dylan’s eyes widened a little as he glanced between Matthias and Lukas, realising that he’d probably interrupted. But after a quick glance to Lukas, Matthias sighed and shook his head,

“Nah bud, it’s cool. The more the merrier.” he said, then took a couple large gulps from his can. 

\----------

The sun was sinking lower and the shadows on the ground were growing longer as the final act took to the stage. The picnic had been devoured between the four of them, and Matthias was well and truly tipsy and was overjoyed at the fact he was spending time with his friends and Lukas together. Lukas was only another beer away from catching up with him. Dylan and Jessica had got up to dance, as had half of the field, and so Matthias draped his arm around Lukas’s shoulders and swayed gently as he sang along to the Smoking Beagles, the blues-rock covers band currently on the stage,

“I told ya they’d all be white old men.” he whispered into Lukas’s ear, causing his hearing aid to whistle with feedback. Lukas turned to look at him, and his face was so close to his own that Matthias could smell the alcohol on his breath when he laughed,

“No, you said they’d be retired teachers.”

Matthias rolled his eyes,

“Old white men, retired teachers, same thing.” he said with a shrug and a smirk, then buried his face into the warmth of Lukas’s neck and placed a kiss against the delicate skin.

“Wanna kiss you, Lukas. You’re so gorgeous.” he mumbled, his voice both slightly slurred from the beer and muffled from leaning into Lukas. Matthias felt Lukas stiffen as the words left his mouth, and he sat up to look at him,

“I didn’t mean that. Well, I did, but it slipped out. I didn’t mean to say it, I only wanted to think it-”

“Do you like this band?” Lukas interrupted him, his expression unreadable, and Matthias just blinked at him,

“I mean, yeah they’re okay, they’re pretty fun, why?” 

“So you wouldn’t mind if we left?” Lukas said, then downed the rest of his beer before tossing the empty can into the picnic basket with the rest of them. It took Matthias a moment to work out what Lukas was talking about until his eyes widened and his eyebrows rose a good few inches.

Scrambling up from the blanket, Matthias clasped Lukas’s hand and pulled him to his feet. Dylan and Jessica looked over from where they were dancing and Matthias leant in to tell them above the music that they were leaving but they could keep using the blanket and to just leave it on the deck of his boat when they wanted to return it. 

Pulling Lukas through the crowd and off the field, Matthias continued to sing along to the song that was playing from the stage as he squeezed Lukas’s hand. They stumbled through the barriers as the event staff offered them hand stamps to get back in later which they both declined. He didn’t stop singing until they were half way down the main road and the music could hardly be heard anymore, but even then he just hummed the tune instead. 

“Where’d you wanna go then, Mr Thomassen?” Matthias said with a grin once he’d stopped humming and slowed their pace when they found the familiarity of the towpath underfoot. The sun was setting now, and the canal glowed orange and pink as they walked along. 

“I thought I told you that I wanted  _ you _ to play Captain.” Lukas said, a mischievous tone to his voice.

“Oh, so you wanna properly go somewhere?” Matthias questioned as they approached their boats. Lukas took the keys to  _ Skidbladnir _ from his pocket and pressed them into Matthias’s hand as he leant up to press a long, slow kiss to his lips. 

“Just the two of us. You know how to start the engine, Captain Densen.” he said against Matthias’s cheek as he broke the kiss, and Matthias felt his grin stretch from ear to ear. 

Then Lukas pulled away and began to clumsily untie the tow rope from the mooring post. With a large stride, Matthias stepped onto the  _ Skidbladnir’s _ deck and was just about to put the key into the ignition when he spotted something on the floor propped up against the bottom of the door. Bending down to take a closer look, Matthias picked up a white envelope and stared at the writing on the front.

_ ‘For the urgent attention of Mr Lukas Thomassen’ _

Turning the letter over in his hands, Matthias frowned as he recognised the logo of a little green door by the return address as the same one on the card that the solicitor had given him. Stealing a quick glance at Lukas as he was still untying the rope to make sure that he hadn’t seen him pick up the letter, Matthias angrily tossed the letter over the side of  _ Skidbladnir _ in a moment of drunken stupor and watched as it began to disintegrate and grow soggy as it floated beside the boat. Then, as Lukas finished untying the rope and stepped across onto the deck to join Matthias, he quickly started the engine and opened throttle. The churning of the water caught the letter and pulled it down below the surface and out of sight before Lukas could have the chance to see it.

Tearing his gaze away from the water, Matthias looked at Lukas as he sat perched on the edge of the roof in front of him, his legs swinging to and from ever so slightly as he looked at him beneath his long eyelashes.

“You really are gorgeous, Lukas.” Matthias sighed as he regarded him, unable to take his eyes away from him until Lukas stuck his foot out and pushed it against the tiller.

“Are we going or what?” he said, his voice a little impatient, though there was still a wicked smirk on his lips.

Without a word, Matthias pushed away from the bank and guided  _ Skidbladnir _ out onto the canal. In the back of his mind he couldn’t help but wonder if he should be at the helm of a boat after several beers, but as long as Lukas continued to look at him like that then he couldn’t bring himself to really care. 

Once they were under the bridge and out onto the canal straight, Lukas sat as far forward as he could on the roof and reached out, balling the front of Matthias’s shirt in his fist and pulled him closer to kiss him again. Still with one hand on the tiller, Matthias let his other rest on Lukas’s thigh, sliding his hand up the opening of his shorts slightly to palm the soft skin beneath. Lukas ran his tongue across Matthias’s bottom lip teasingly, and it took every ounce of Matthias’s being to pull away and keep his attention on navigating a damn boat. 

“It’s hard to play Captain if you’re gonna do that.” he said with a slight shake of his head, but Lukas only reached behind his head to take his hair out from it’s hair tie and shook his curls free, letting them fall about his face. Still feeling the effects of the alcohol, Matthias felt his knees begin to feel weak and his blood run south as Lukas coyly ran a hand through his hair and continued to stare at him beneath hooded eyes. 

“Right, that’s it. We’re stopping at the next mooring spot.” Matthias stated as he pulled shoulders back and opened throttle just a little more.

“Aye Aye, Captain.” was all Lukas said.

The next mooring that they came to Matthias recognised instantly the same one that they’d stopped at the first time that Lukas had taken Matthias up the canal, the one beneath the willow tree. Slowing them down, Matthias concentrated hard so that he didn’t bump  _ Skidbladnir _ against the riverbank as he moored up and watched as Lukas ducked so that he didn’t get snagged by the over hanging willow branches. 

As soon as the boat was straight up against the bank, Matthias killed the engine and didn’t even bother with the tow rope before closing the gap between himself and Lukas, kissing him deeply. The summer air was thick and humid around them, and Matthias’s felt his breathing quickly becoming heavy as he tangled his hands within Lukas’s hair. Lukas slid back on the roof and broke their kiss, and Matthias was just about to climb up into the space that Lukas had made when Lukas stopped him,

“Wait,” he said, then reached into the pocket of his shorts and pulled out a small blue circular case. Matthias watched as he opened it and set it down on the roof beside him, then his hands disappeared beneath his hair for a moment as he took his hearing aids out and placed them into the case. It closed with a sharp snap before Lukas slid the case back into his pocket, then he patted the roof between his legs with his hand.

Not needing to wait for a second invitation, Matthias hoisted himself up onto the roof and placed a hand to Lukas’s chest, pressing him down gently so that his back was against the roof and his blonde curls spilled around his head like a halo in the dim evening light. Matthias took a moment to admire the sight beneath him, Lukas’s flushed cheeks, his parted lips, his soft gaze, and cupped his face softly with his hand before leaning down to kiss him once more. 

Lukas’s hands found their way under his shirt and ran across his chest, his delicate touch sending shivers up Matthias’s spine as he slid his tongue into Lukas’s mouth. Their kisses became rougher, messier, and eventually Matthias was the one to break away when he felt a sweat breaking across his back and a tightness forming beneath the waistband of his shorts, not wanting to ruin anything by going too far. He dropped down onto his side beside Lukas, who moved to rest his head on Matthias’s chest and tangled his legs with his own. They lay there for a little while, their breathing slowing down as they looked up into the canopy of the willow tree above them. The darkening sky above was clear, and if they lay here long enough Matthias was sure that they’d be able to see the stars tonight. 

“When I was in Birmingham I bought a formal suit.” Lukas said, breaking the silence. His voice was loud in Matthias’s ear and his speech slurred without his hearing aids, but Matthias could still understand him. 

“I want to come to the wedding with you.” he continued, and Matthias moved to place a kiss to the top of Lukas’s head, smiling into his hair. He didn’t say anything, he didn’t need to, and instead Matthias just raised his arm up so Lukas could see and stuck out his thumb, rotating his wrist a little, signing ‘okay.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: I wrote this entire chapter while listening to Cruel Summer by bananarama on repeat for hours. 
> 
> You all made me so so happy with your comments on last chapter that I was just super motivated to keep going while I had the time this weekend, so now I'm gonna leave this and run, and I'll see you all for the final chapter eeeek! ily all so much <3
> 
> Until then!
> 
> -lumassen x


	14. Chapter 14 - The Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know I said there would only be one final chapter.... but turns out this chapter would have been over 11k words if I posted it all as one, so instead I've separated it into two chapters. :')

**Chapter 14 - The Wedding**

It was a hazy morning, and the village of Mytholmroyd was fast asleep. The sun had just barely risen above the riverline, casting a low and blinding light down the main street, across the river, over the rooftops. Although Matthias was used to rising at the crack of dawn, this Sunday morning was different. There was an air of peace, of calm, of pure  _ happiness, _ as he walked the still streets with Lukas; an overnight bag slung over their shoulder and their suits pressed and kept neat in a plastic dry-cleaning covering over their arm. 

As promised, Maggie was waiting for them by the gates to the post office, her hair wrapped in rollers and her slippers on her feet. 

“Morning, my love. You excited?” Maggie greeted Matthias with a warm smile across her softly wrinkled face as he stopped before her.

He cast a quick glance at Lukas beside him then nodded, a large smile breaking across his own face,

“A lil’ nervous actually, Mags!” he said truthfully as he took a set of keys from Maggie as she held them out to him. He fiddled with them in his hand, looping his finger through the keyring. 

Last night Matthias had been unable to sleep properly and had been pacing his boat since 3am, running over his speech and checking that he had absolutely everything packed at least four times. 

“Well, I don’t blame you sweetheart, today is a big day! But I’m sure it’ll be lovely.” 

As Maggie spoke, she reached into her handbag and pulled out a powder blue envelope, her wonderfully old-fashioned cursive across the front.

“Here, this is for the newlyweds. It’s just a card from us at the post office.” 

Matthias began to shift his bag further up his shoulder and put the keys in his pocket to free his spare hand to take the card from Maggie, but before he could Lukas reached forward and took it from her with a shy smile.

“We’ll give it to them for you, what a nice thought.” he said, and Matthias watched as Maggie regarded Lukas for a moment, a warm expression on her face. She was quiet for a moment, just looking between Lukas and Matthias before she took in a breath and turned to the back gates of the post office.

“Right, well you’d better get going! Don’t let me make you late.”

She fumbled with the latch for a moment, the cast iron gate clanging and cutting through the quietness of the morning as she pulled it back and swung it open.

“Now, Gary from the depot thinks your van is going in for servicing while Samantha covers your shifts. She’ll use the van from the Todmorden branch, so this stays between me and you.” Maggie tapped the side of her nose with her finger and winked at Matthias as she stepped back away from the gate. 

Matthias brought Maggie into an awkward, one armed hug, careful not to crease his suit between them as he did so.

“Thanks, Mags, you’re the best.” he beamed as she gave him an affectionate squeeze before pulling back with a shrug.

“No one questions a sweet old lady. Now go before Alice and Dylan get here; then we’ll be in trouble. Have a wonderful time, boys.”

Waving them off, Maggie set off down the street and Matthias made his way over to his van. He put the key into the lock beneath the door handle on the old vehicle to unlock it, then left them dangling there while he went round to open up the back.

“I’ve never driven this van above 25 miles an hour around the village,” he laughed as he laid his suit down gently and put his bag beside it, then motioned for Lukas to pass him his stuff so he could do the same.

“So what’s probably a 3 hour drive for most people will take us much longer, brace yourself.” 

Matthias patted the back of the van as he slammed the back doors closed, and Lukas shook his head with a smirk.

“I just can’t believe you’re gonna drive us down to a wedding in the scenic cotswolds in an old 1991 Royal Mail ford escort.” he said, then he and Matthias parted for a moment to each walk around the van and get in. Lukas fiddled with his seatbelt in the passenger seat while Matthias started the engine.

“What can I say? I’ve got style.” Matthias winked at Lukas with a grin, then backed out of the post office and onto the main road. 

Taking a moment to sort out directions as Matthias drove slowly through the village, Lukas typed in the postcode of Berwald and Tino’s guesthouse into the maps app on his phone and they waited for the robotic navigation voice to start up.

The morning light basked the green hillside in a warmth that made Matthias remember just how much he loved Mytholm and the English countryside as they weaved through the moors, and Lukas wound the window down to look out at the view. The wind whooshed around him, and Matthias couldn’t help but smile at the expression of content on his face that he’d now grown so used to seeing over the past couple of weeks. 

The Lukas that currently sat beside him wasn’t the same Lukas that he’d met three months ago. Since the music festival Matthias hadn’t seen the woman from the solicitors again, nor had Lukas received any more mail. For a few days after he’d tossed the letter he'd found on the deck of  _ Skidbladnir _ into the canal, Matthias had been plagued with guilt and couldn’t believe that even in drunken stupor he would do such a thing, but yet every time he tried to confess to Lukas what he’d done he just couldn’t bring himself to. The 31st of July was creeping nearer and nearer, and Matthias was starting to think that there might be a chance that Lukas would stay in Mytholm.

Neither of them had mentioned his expiring mooring licence, and it now seemed to be common knowledge around the village that there was something going on between the two liveaboards. Lukas had even started accepting art commissions, and was currently working on a painting that Jennifer from the bakers had asked him to do of her grandfather's dog as a gift for his birthday. Oftentimes Matthias would return home from a shift to find Lukas atop  _ Skidbladnir  _ while he worked, the once immaculate rooftop was now covered in tiny splodges of watercolour paint or acrylic. 

Life was beautiful, and Matthias had no one but Lukas to thank for it. 

Once they’d veered off the country roads and onto the motorway, Lukas brought his head back into the van and closed the window. They drove in a comfortable silence for a little while as Matthias found his bearings, listened to the directions from the satnav, and got into the right lane. The van was able to reach 60 miles an hour without any problems, and after the satnav had told them to keep going straight down the M6 for 102 miles Matthias relaxed into the driver's seat and turned the radio on. 

Glancing away from the road for a couple of seconds at a time, Matthias fiddled with the radio and flipped through the stations through commercials, pop songs, classical music, until his face lit up when he landed on ‘ _ absolute 70’s _ ’.

“Oh my god, I haven’t heard this song in  _ years _ !”

Looking over to Lukas in the passenger seat as he tapped his finger on the wheel along to  _ Honey, Honey,  _ by  _ ABBA _ .

“- _ I wanted to know some more, and now I know what they mean, you're a love machine! Oh, you make me dizzy _ !”

With a cheesy grin, Matthias sang along to the song and wiggled his eyebrows at Lukas who rolled his eyes and cast his gaze out of the window, though there was a hint of an amused smile on his lips.

Matthias continued to sing along, getting more and more enthusiastic as the song continued, swaying to and fro ever so slightly in his seat. 

“C’mon, Lukas! You gotta know this song, sing with me!” Matthias pressed and took his hand from the gear stick for a moment to prod Lukas in the leg.

“Have you ever heard the phrase ‘tone deaf’?” Lukas said in response as his eyes searched Matthias’s, brow raised and cheeks tinged with pink, but Matthias just shrugged and carried on singing,

“ _ I feel like I wanna sing when you do your thiiiiiing~ _ ” he stretched the last note, then took in a breath ready to continue on to the chorus with even more enthusiasm, but the air escaped his lungs and the words died on his tongue when Lukas averted his gaze and looked out of the windshield,

“ _ I don't wanna hurt you baby, I don't wanna see you cry. So stay on the ground girl, you better not get too high,” _

Lukas’s voice was soft and so endearingly out of tune as he mumbled along to the chorus, and Matthias’s grin stretched almost impossibly wider,

_ “But I'm gonna stick to you boy, you'll never get rid of me. There's no other place in this world where I rather would be,”  _

Matthias joined back in again and the two of them continued to sing together for the rest of the song; Matthias belting out the words while Lukas sang quietly. By the time the song began to fade out and the radio presenter started to talk, Matthias lowered the volume on the radio and didn’t say anything for a moment to catch his breath. 

It was starting to get warm in the car as the sun continued to rise in the sky, and the next time that Matthias glanced over at Lukas he couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say you’re tone deaf, but perhaps it’s best if you stick to art.” he teased, then yelped a little as Lukas reached across and smacked him hard on the knee.

“Well now I’m never singing in front of you again. In fact, I’m never  _ speaking _ again until you apologize.” 

Crossing his arms firmly over his chest, Lukas turned to look out of the window, and Matthias’s face fell a little, unsure if Lukas was teasing him back or if he'd genuinely upset him.

“I’m only joking, Lu! You have the voice of an angel, really!” he said, but Lukas kept his back turned, unfolding his arms and signing something loosely without looking at Matthias. 

“Oh, so now you think you’re being clever, huh?” 

Matthias’s grin returned as he knew that Lukas wasn’t really upset, and was about to continue with their playful banter until he saw Lukas’s hand disappearing beneath his hair to switch his hearing aid off.

“Wait, Lukas! I’m sorry. I like your voice, honestly, and I’d happily listen to you sing all day. Even if you  _ are _ a little off key.” Matthias added his last remark with a smirk as Lukas turned to look at him, his hand dropping away from his ear and into his lap. 

The radio stayed on for the rest of the journey, playing softly in the background while Matthias and Lukas either chatted over it or sang along. Once they were just over half way to their destination they’d pulled into a service station and Matthias had re-fueled the van while Lukas went into the store to buy them some late breakfast. Then for the remainder of the drive they shared pre-packed ham sandwiches and a couple chocolate bars between them until they started to pick up signs for Bourton-on-the-Water.

“I think we need to take this exit then follow directions for the A429.” Lukas said, glancing between the map on his phone and the road ahead and Matthias began to pull over to the slip road to come off the motorway. Once on the quiet back roads, Lukas opened the window again and allowed a welcome breeze to cool them down. The weather was even warmer now that they were in the south, and Matthias reached across the dashboard for his sunglasses, sliding them awkwardly onto his face with one hand while keeping the other on the wheel. 

“So how long has your brother had the guesthouse?” Lukas asked, shielding his own eyes from the bright sun by holding his hand up to his forehead.

“About four years I wanna say, maybe a little longer. It’s gorgeous, just wait ‘til ya see it.” Matthias replied with a smile. 

Tino and Berwald were the proud owners of The Grainary Inn, an old 15th century farmhouse nestled within 4 acres of land in the country. Berwald’s grandmother had left a sum of money in her will that he’d inherited when she passed away, and so he used it for the deposit for the house that he and Tino bought together. For the first year or so they’d lived there as just a family of three while Peter was just a baby, but then when he’d started to get a little older and Tino had been rejected for yet another West End audition on the basis that he ‘had an incredible voice, but unfortunately just didn't look the part’ they decided to apply for a grant and did the farmhouse up. They’d built an extension and renovated the old barn, turning their home into the guesthouse bed and breakfast they’d been running ever since. 

Matthias’s legs were beginning to ache from driving for so long, and so he was a little relieved when finally he slowed down as they reached the turning that led them down the winding country road toward the The Grainary. The road was bumpy and narrow, surrounded on both sides with tall hedgerows. Birds darted between them over the van, likely disturbed by the engine, and the beginnings of Berwald and Tino’s home and livelihood could be seen at the end of the road when the thatched roof came into view over the top of the hedge. 

A woman was standing at the end of the road, her long brown hair tied up elegantly as she stood in a pretty pale green dress waving to Matthias. He beeped the horn in greeting and then once he’d reached her he stopped and wound the window down.

“I thought there was no post on Sunday’s?” she said, leaning down to peer into the van, a kind smile on her face.

“Ha Ha, very funny,” Matthias rolled his eyes, “Where’s best to park?” he then asked, glancing out of the windshield and then back to the woman.

Up ahead, the guesthouse’s car park was full, and cars were spilling over onto the field adjacent, parked askew among the grass.

“Well, seeing as my dear cousin is too eager to please the summertime tourists, guests are still checking out on the morning of his fucking wedding, so the place will be pretty packed until after 12,” she paused to point to the cars among the grass, “Park over there for now, and then later once all the guests have gone you can move over onto the car park.”

Taking his arm off the door of the van from where he’d been leaning out of it to talk, Matthias took the wheel again,

“Thanks, Liz!” he called to her and waved out of the window, leaving her standing at the end of the road ready to probably explain the same thing to the next car that Matthias could see arriving behind him in the rear view mirror.

“What time is the ceremony?” Lukas asked as Matthias parked between two other cars on the grass. Lukas seemed just as surprised as Matthias at the amount of people filing in and out from the front of the guesthouse, slinging suitcases into cars or standing on the green beneath the white tent that had been erected with glasses of champagne in their hands. It would have been hard to differentiate between who was a guest and who was here for the wedding if it weren't for the fancy dresses and suits vs shorts and t-shirts.

Matthias laughed as he turned the engine off and got out of the car,

“Not ‘til 2pm. I would say that I can’t believe guests are still checking out and that Berwald and Tino didn’t close the guesthouse off this weekend, but it honestly doesn’t even surprise me.” he said to Lukas over the roof of the van as he got out on the other side.

After hauling their bags and suits out from the back of the van, Matthias led Lukas to the front of the guesthouse. The ivy that climbed over the sandy coloured bricks had doubled in size since Matthias had last been here, and the window boxes were in bloom and bursting with colourful flowers.

Despite the rustic exterior, the inside of the guesthouse was wonderfully modern, with beautiful polished wood floors and low beams that ran along the ceiling. A welcome rush of air conditioning hit Matthias as he stepped inside, and he pushed his sunglasses up onto his head to tangle within his hair. 

“Shouldn’t you at  _ least _ be getting fitted into your suit by now?” Matthias shook his head in disbelief at Tino as he stood behind the front desk, collecting the keys back from a family who were checking out.

Despite the chaos, Tino seemed completely unfazed as he grinned widely at Matthias before coming out from behind the desk and bringing him into a hug. 

“Hi Matt! How was the drive down? And I will be as soon as the last guest has checked out, they’re due down any minute.” Tino said cheerfully, then he turned to Lukas and gave him a warm smile, “Thanks for coming, Lukas. It’s good to see you.”

Lukas nodded and smiled back, and Matthias leant on the front desk as Tino went back around it.

“It was great actually, traffic was good and the van didn’t struggle with the mileage as much as I thought.” 

Matthias drummed his fingers on the desk a little while Tino reached up and took a room key down from the hooks behind him, humming to show that he was listening to Matthias before handing him the key, lowering his voice,

“So I spoke to the manager, he’s a very nice guy, and managed to pull some strings for you so you’re in the double suite on the top floor.” he winked at Matthias as he spoke, leaning in closer over the large desk between them, eyes flickering between Matthias and Lukas standing behind him.

Taking the key from Tino, Matthias glanced knowingly at the little gold badge pinned on his shirt reading ‘ _ Tino - General Manager _ ’. Even on one of the biggest days of his life, Tino was still thinking of others, and Matthias couldn’t be prouder of that fact that finally he would become a full member of his family later on that same afternoon.

“The manager is an amazing guy, so be sure to thank him for me when you see him, okay?” Matthias beamed, clutching the key in his palm, and Tino gave him a knowing smirk before turning his attention to the couple that had just come down the main staircase to check out. 

When Matthias picked up his bag and slung it back over his shoulder, he found Lukas standing against the wall looking around the foyer, suit draped over his arm and his bag clutched in his hand. He seemed lost in thought until he spotted Matthias coming over when his faraway expression faded and his face broke into a small smile.

“Got the room key.” Matthias said triumphantly, holding it up in his hand to show Lukas as if he needed proof. Then he stopped for a moment and just looked at him, tucking a pesky fly-away hair back behind his ear for him, careful not to loosen his hearing aid.

“I’m really happy that you’re here, Lukas.” he whispered, caressing his cheek ever so slightly before dropping his hand by his side.

Lukas hesitated for a moment, lips parted to speak, but Matthias expected the words to not leave them as usual and so he began to turn toward the staircase,

“Me too.” Lukas voice drifted from behind him, and Matthias looked over his shoulder at him as he joined him at the foot of the stair.

“Really?” he asked, searching Lukas’s face for any trace of uncertainty, but found none when he smiled and nodded.

“Really.”

They climbed the staircase together, and it got narrower as they reached the top floor. There were only two suites up here, built into the loft conversion of what used to be the eaves of the farmhouse. The ceiling was low and sloping, and when Matthias let them into the room it stretched out before them with an en-suite bathroom at the far end. 

Putting his bag down at the end of the large double bed, Matthias then opened the wardrobe and hung his suit up, motioning for Lukas to give him his so he could do the same with it. Now that his hands were free and they were in the privacy of their room, Matthias closed the gap between him and Lukas and brought him in for a kiss, slow and sweet, wrapping his arms around him and holding him close. Matthias had lost count of the amount of times that they’d shared a kiss now, yet each one was still just as special as the last, and Lukas’s lithe body fit perfectly against his own.

His phone vibrated in his back pocket, and Lukas reached his hand down to pull it out for him, hands lingering in his pocket for a little longer than necessary, then stepped back and held it out.

“Hah, thanks for that,” Matthias grinned sheepishly and opened up the text message he’d received as Lukas set to work unpacking his toothbrush and change of clothes from his overnight bag, setting them out over the bed.

“Aw, it’s from Manon. It’s a photo of Freyr,” Matthias cooed as he looked at the whatsapp message, then held his phone out so that Lukas could see the picture of Freyr sprawled out on the rug back on Lukas’s boat. 

“ _ ‘Oh to be a cat’ _ she says as the caption.” he chuckled as he sent Manon a quick reply before tossing his phone onto the bed to answer the knock at the door to their room.

Berwald was standing in the hall on the other side of the door once Matthias opened it, his hair swept back and his suit in his arms.

“Ber! Today’s the day, eh? I still can’t believe it!” Matthias beamed at his brother as he fiddled with the protective plastic covering over his suit. Unlike Tino downstairs, Berwald was the one who seemed nervous. Though not usually a man of very many expressions, Matthias knew him well enough not to miss the slight furrow of his brow.

“I’ve come to fetch ya. Gotta start getting ready now.” Berwald said, pushing his glasses further up his nose, and Matthias felt his pulse quicken a little as the events of today finally sunk in. This was it, his brother was getting married. 

Turning back into the room just as Lukas came out from the en-suite bathroom, Matthias caught his eye and he stopped what he was doing.

“I gotta go and get fitted and keep the groom from becoming a nervous wreck just before he walks down the aisle. You gonna be alright getting ready yourself?” he left Berwald at the door for a moment to come back into the room and grab his suit from where it was hanging up.

Lukas nodded, “I’ll be fine. I’ll see you later.” he said with a smile, and Matthias placed a kiss to his cheek.

“Yep, see you later. Your name’ll be on your seat in the front row, okay?” 

Lukas nodded again, taking hold of Matthias’s shoulder and spinning him around to face the door with a gentle shove,

“Yes, I know. I have been to a wedding before, believe it or not.” he said with a smirk, “Now go.”

As Matthias and Berwald made their way down to the function room that had been set up as a makeshift dressing room, Matthias felt butterflies starting to form in his stomach, and couldn’t imagine how Berwald must be feeling if  _ he _ was nervous.

Once he’d downed half a beer though his nerves eased a little when he got talking to the other groomsmen and laughed with them about how amusing it had been all morning watching everyone try to keep Tino and Berwald from seeing each other as they’d finished attending to the last of the guests. 

Then when Berwald stepped out from behind the dressing screen, the chatter fell silent and Matthias felt tears spring to his eyes at the sight of his brother standing before him dressed in a dark blue three-piece suit and bowtie, his shoes buffed and polished and a single sprig of lily of the valley in his breast pocket. Matthias set his half drunk beer down onto the bar and stared at him, an overwhelming pride overcoming him.

“Berwald, you look incredible.” he breathed out in awe, watching as Berwald stood just that little bit taller and straightened out his cuff, the faintest of nervous smiles crossing his face.

It was nearing 1:30pm by the time Matthias was dressed in his suit. He and the rest of Berwald’s groomsmen were dressed in light grey tweed with a dark blue tie, whereas Tino's groomsmen would be in dark grey with a light blue tie to match his own suit. Matthias was just finishing dragging a comb through his hair when the officiant stuck their head around the door, calling everyone to take their positions outside for the ceremony. 

Matthias’s squeezed Berwalds arm as they made their way to the waiting wings on either side of the tent and canopy that had been set up in the grounds of the guesthouse that Tino and Berwald would marry beneath. The weather was warm and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the sound of glasses clinking and cheerful chatter filled the air. While they were waiting for further instructions, Matthias peeled back the fabric of the tent back ever so. He looked around at all the guests seated, scanning the front row. Then, his heart swelled a little when he caught sight of Lukas sitting in his chair beside his mother, nodding away as she was chatting animatedly to him. He was dressed in a navy suit with a slim burgundy tie and matching kerchief in his pocket. His hair pinned back neatly with the hairpin that Matthias had given to him. He looked breathtaking, and part of Matthias still couldn’t believe that he was actually here.

But Matthias didn’t have long to stare at Lukas before everyone quietened and music started to play from the live band. Himself and the other groomsmen walked out onto the small elevated platform at the foot of the tent to stand by the officiant beside an arch of beautiful white flowers. Tino’s groomsmen had done the same, and the two groups exchanged glances and nervous smiles. Then, the music grew a little louder as Berwald and Tino both stepped out from behind where they’d been waiting in the wings. Matthias watched as Berwald tried his best to choke back his tears when he caught sight of Tino standing before him, and even he had to take a second to compose himself.

Tino’s suit had been custom made and so, for the first time, Tino didn’t have an empty sleeve hanging lifeless by his side. His powder-blue silk suit jacket had been made without one, and instead the fabric was neatly fitted around his shoulder and what remained of his limb. As Tino met Berwald in the middle of the altar, Matthias heard him whisper to Berwald under his breath as the officiant began to speak, telling him to breathe and that he looked wonderful. 

“Welcome, family, friends and loved ones. We gather here today to celebrate the wedding of Berwald and Tino. You have come here to share in this formal commitment they make to one another, to offer your love and support to this union, and to allow Berwald and Tino to start their married life together surrounded by the people dearest and most important to them.” The officiant addressed the room, a kind passion in their voice, and Matthias stole a quick glance at Lukas who was watching the ceremony with a soft expression, then at his mother who was already sobbing. 

The declarations of intent were simple and beautiful, and Matthias watched as Berwald and Tino didn’t take their eyes away from each other the whole time. Then, the officiant paused,

“May I have the rings please?” they asked while looking down the aisle. Then it was Tino’s turn to choke up, and he clamped his hand over his mouth to hold in a happy sob when little Peter appeared at the end of the aisle. He skipped down it in his own smart blue suit, and the entirety of the room ‘aww’d’ when he handed a ring box to each of his parents. 

“Please repeat after me: I give you this ring, as a daily reminder of my love and devotion to you.” the officiant stated, and Berwald and Tino repeated. Berwalds voice was shaky and his hands were trembling as he took Tino’s hand in his, sliding the ring up his finger. The officiant then reached over to take the empty ring box from Tino, allowing him to do the same to Berwald.

There was a pause, and even the music stopped for a moment while the officiant raised their hands, guestguring to Berwald and Tino as they stood facing each other, hand in hand,

Then, they took in a breath and raised their voice, “Berwald and Tino, before these witnesses you have pledged to be joined in marriage. You have sealed this pledge with your wedding rings, and I now pronounce you married! You may now kiss your husband!"

The officiant had barely finished their sentence before Berwald leaned down, cupping Tino’s cheek in his hand and brought their lips together. Paper confetti was released from above and the entirety of the room rose from their seats, clapping and cheering as Berwald picked Peter up and held Tino’s hand in his. He stole one more chaste kiss before they made their way down the aisle as a newly married little family, being showered in more confetti as they passed by their families and friends.

*

For the rest of the afternoon, guesthouse grounds were opened up and drinks were being served from a makeshift bar within a smaller tent. A photographer did the rounds, and Matthias found himself in front of the camera numerous times, whether it was a candid shot or a professionally organised shoot of the happy couple and their families.

Then as the night drew on people began to move inside. In comparison to the ceremony, simple and well organised, the reception was quite the opposite. The function room had been changed into the main place where the reception was held and tables overflowed with drinks glasses and buffet food, and music blasted from large speakers and a DJ booth. 

After speaking to what seemed like every single person at the reception, some of whom he hadn’t seen in years, Matthias finally had time for Lukas. Once they’d had dinner and Tino and Berwald had cut the wedding cake, Matthias asked Lukas if he wanted to dance, and they were currently on the dancefloor where they swayed slowly together, hand in hand.

“Sorry if my mother talked your ear off during the ceremony. I wouldn’t be surprised or offended if you turned your hearing aid off.” Matthias said with a laugh, and Lukas rolled his eyes.

“I was this close to doing it,” Lukas brought a hand up to Matthias’s face, pinching his fingers and inch apart, “but all I’ll say is that it’s apparent where you get your talkative trait from now.” 

Matthias laughed again, not even attempting to deny it as he knew that Lukas was more than speaking the truth. Then, Matthias lowered his voice a little and brought his arm up to let a hand rest on Lukas’s waist.

“She really likes you, y’know. Everyone does.” he said softly.

Hanging his head a little, Lukas stared at their feet as they moved in time to each other. They danced together for the remainder of the song, Lukas’s hand resting on Matthias’s shoulder. Under the dim lights, Lukas truly was mesmerizing. By this point most of the guests had kicked off their heels and were dancing barefoot, ties and dickie bows had been long discarded and shirts became untucked, but Lukas was still dressed so perfectly, his tie still knotted, his collar buttoned to the top, and Matthias’s couldn’t help but admire how the dark navy of his suit complimented his eyes.

All throughout the day Matthias had been staring at him from across the green when they were having photographs taken as he sat peacefully beneath the oak tree on the lawn, just watching the guests from his own little world while nursing a glass of champagne. Whenever anyone had asked who Matthias was here with, he was proud to point Lukas out every single time. 

The silence between them as they danced wasn’t awkward - it never was - and Matthias could happily remain in Lukas’s company for the rest of the night, just holding him close as if they were the only two in the room. After a while though, Lukas’s brow furrowed slightly and he broke the silence,

“Look, Matthias, I’ve been thinking. I’ve decided to-” he began, but he stopped as Tino approached them and swung his arm around Matthias’s neck, nearly spilling what smelt like a very strong vodka tonic down his front.

“Denny, I jus' wanted to say thank you” Tino’s words were slurring a little, his cheeks flushed bright red and his hair plastered to his forehead, “I’ve just married the man of my dreams and it came with the added bonus of being able to make my best friend my brother.”

Letting go of Lukas, Matthias instead placed his hand on the small of Tino’s back to help keep him upright. He was glad that between speaking to everyone that evening he hadn’t had the chance to drink much himself and was relatively sober or else they would have both been in a heap on the floor. Casting an apologetic look over at Lukas, who was clearly finding this very amusing judging by the expression on his face, Matthias listened to Tino’s drunken rambling until Berwald spotted them and came to collect his husband. 

“Excuse me but I’m looking for a handsome Finn. Have you seen him around? I’ve come to sweep him off his feet.” Berwald said to Matthias, a playful smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

As soon as Tino saw Berwald his face lit up as though he were about to marry him all over again, and Berwald took him away to dance once more, giving Matthias a wink and a quick pat on the shoulder.

“Sometimes I wonder how they’re so damn perfect for each other.” Matthias turned his attention back to Lukas, rolled his eyes fondly and shook his head, “Sorry, you were saying something?” he said, and Lukas regarded him for a moment before taking his hand and leading him off the dancefloor.

“Do you think we could go somewhere a little more private?” he asked, and Matthias just nodded, letting Lukas take him through the guesthouse and up to their room as all sorts of scenarios filled his head. They raced up the last couple of stairs and fell through the door like giddy teenagers, and Lukas shoved his clothes that he’d started to set out neatly on the bed earlier onto the floor. Then he pushed Matthias down gently, kissing him as he fumbled with unknotting his tie, slipping it from around his neck and tossing it to the floor without breaking their kiss. 

Matthias felt his phone vibrate on the bed beside them where he’d left it, but he ignored it, instead focusing on unbuttoning Lukas’s shirt, hoping that tonight they could make the most of being in a regular sized double bed as opposed to the confined space aboard _The Sandpiper._ But his phone began to vibrate again almost immediately after it had stopped, and Lukas mumbled between kisses for Matthias to ignore it as he reached for it.

“Just gonna turn it off,” he said as he picked it up, but upon glancing at the screen Matthias sat up quickly, Lukas sliding off from on top of him.

“Matthias, what’s wrong?” Lukas’s voice was laced with irritation as Matthias stared at his phone.

_ Manon - 7 missed calls _

_ New Messages (9) _

Unlocking his phone, Matthias scrolled through the messages and felt his heart begin to race.

‘ _ Matt answer your phone _ ’

_ 'I know you're at the wedding but please pick up its urgent' _

_ ‘Hellooooo? answer your phone’ _

_ ‘Matthias for fucks sake pick up' _

“Matthias!” 

Lukas waved his hand in front of Matthias’s face, bringing him out from his trance. His expression was full of concern now, and Matthias felt like he was about to throw up, his mind jumping to all sorts of conclusions.

“Sorry, its- I just need to call Manon. I don't wanna worry you but I think something's wrong back home.”

He stood up, pacing the room for a moment, his hands running anxiously through his hair. 

Lukas swung his legs over the bed and stared at Matthias. Dialling Manon's number, Matthias brought his phone to his ear. It barely rang twice before Manon picked up. Matthias couldn’t even get a word in before she started yelling down the phone,

“Matthias do you have any idea how stressed I’ve been?" She began, and Matthias had to lower the volume a little on his phone, 

"A guy knocked on my door this afternoon, said he was called Stuart from the boatyard. He was looking for you but when I told him you were away he just said that he came to warn you that he’d been approached by a debt recovery agency and that they have authority to seize  _ Skidbladnir.  _ They’re coming by in the morning to tow her away and they’ve paid him to do it for them and to store it for them while the claim is investigated.”

As Manon continued, Matthias could hear a ringing in his ears as his chest rose and fell quickly, panic setting in,

“I didn't tell him I had the keys though, I didn’t want to get involved. But he said that you seemed interested in  _ Skidbladnir _ and getting hold of some money so he wanted to give you a heads up. I don’t know what’s going on but you should probably bring Lukas home tonight.” 

By the time Manon was finished, Matthias’s throat was tight and dry and he felt all colour drain from his face. He sunk down onto the bed beside Lukas, suddenly feeling light headed. It took him a moment to compose himself, and there was a long pause on the other end of the phone as Manon waited for him to say something.

“We’ll be home tonight. We’ll leave now. Thanks, Manon.” he said, his voice breaking, and he didn’t even wait for Manon to say anything else before hanging up.

Lukas placed a hand on top of Matthias's knee, staring up into his face, but Matthias couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with him. 

“What’s wrong? Matthias you’re freaking me out, is everything alright? Is it Freyr?” he pressed, and Matthias's eyes began to brim with tears. The room was swimming, and Matthias took in a shuddered breath,

"I've fucked up, Lukas. I've been so stupid. But before I tell you why, just know that I didn’t want any of this to happen. I wanted to protect you and I didn’t want to hurt you because… because I love you, Lukas.” as Matthias spoke, he stood up from the bed, turning to face Lukas and finally looked him in the eye while his hands signed ‘I love you’ the way that Emil had taught him. 

Lukas sat before him, so many emotions crossing across his face that Matthias was sure that he was about to cry too.

“I-” he began, his eyes that were staring deeply into Matthias’s were wide and taken aback, but then his hands graced across his chest as he signed back,

“I love you too, but-”

Matthias had longed to hear those words from Lukas’s mouth since the day he met him, yet now that he finally had it only tore him apart.

Leaving Lukas sitting bewildered on the bed watching him pace the room, Matthias picked up his bag and started to shove Lukas’s clothes inside it. His tie was bundled up somewhere within them but he couldn’t even bring himself to bother to retrieve it as he zipped the bag up. 

“Matthias you need to tell me what’s going on. Something’s happened, I know it, and you’re scaring me. Please, whatever this is then surely-”

Matthias whirled around on the spot, startling Lukas as he raised his voice, tears finally spilling down his cheeks,

“They’ve found you, Lukas! They’re coming to tow your boat away in the morning and it’s all because of me!” he yelled, a numbness in his chest as he held Lukas's gaze and watched his face contort into a blank and cold expression. 

"What?" was all he said, his tone pointed and accusatory as he rose up from the bed, suddenly standing as still as a statue.

"What are you talking about?"

Lukas’s eyes were narrowed, his breathing shallow, and Matthias chewed on his lip as he willed himself not to burst out into full sobs as he gripped Lukas’ bag tightly within his fingers. He swallowed thickly, and at first nothing but a strained whisper came from his throat until he took a moment to gather his thoughts before trying again,

“When you were away, in Birmingham, a woman- she came from a solicitor looking for you. She asked me if I knew who you were, and I panicked, I said I didn’t. She looked at your boat and gave me a business card to give to you but I just left it on your boat. I didn’t wanna worry you-” 

As words spilled from Matthias’s mouth it was as though he could visibly see the emotional barrier that had been slowly dissolving over the 3 months that he’d spent with Lukas going back up as he folded his arms tightly across his chest and just stared at him, his own face paling.

“Then when we were on Skidbladnir after the music festival and you wanted me to take you out, there… there was a letter on the deck, for your urgent attention, but I was drunk and angry and  _ I’m sorry. _ I wasn’t thinking straight and I tossed it into the water so that you wouldn’t see it. It was dumb and stupid and-”

“You  _ kept  _ this from me? You’ve known about the solicitor, and about the letter, and you never thought to tell me?” 

Lukas’s words were like a poison dart straight to Matthias’s heart, and he just stood there gaping at him, pinned beneath his icy stare.

“I wanted to, Lukas, I really did but you just seemed so happy after getting the book deal and I didn’t want to ruin it for you. Trust me, I-” Matthias began to plea, but Lukas interrupted him,

“ _ Trust you _ ? I thought I could!” he spat, raising his voice and causing Matthias to flinch, “You were the one person in the world I thought I could confide in. Here I was ready to try and make this work, ready to extend my mooring licence, but clearly I’m the stupid one here. I never should have stayed in Mytholm after that first letter reached me.”

The room fell into a stagnant silence nothing like the comfortable quietness that usually surrounded Lukas, and Matthias suddenly felt anger rising up in the pit of his stomach.

“You should have  _ opened _ it, Lukas, instead of trying to run away from a mistake that’ll just haunt you and follow you for the rest of your life! I- yeah, sure, I didn’t tell you about the solicitor and I admit that it was wrong to throw the letter in the water, but I nearly sold  _ The Sandpiper  _ for you so that I could give you the help that you so clearly  _ need.” _

Matthias was shouting now, his throat rasping, and he clenched his fists by his sides as Lukas just scoffed,

“I don’t need your help. I was doing just fine before you started meddling in my life! I should have known that I couldn’t trust you from the start when you were so pushy, so desperate to get to know me. I thought it was sweet at first that you would come and talk to me and want to be around me, but now I realise that it’s probably just because you’re one of those people who likes to ‘ _ fix people _ ’” Lukas made air quotations with his fingers as he spoke, his face reddening as he continued,

“I don’t need fixing. I’m not broken. I don’t need you pitying me by trying to learn sign language or to sell your boat to save me from my own mistakes. Do you think this is amusing? Do you really think that I would just accept your charity?” 

Matthias’s anger dissolved as he caught sight of the look of hurt and betrayal on Lukas’s face, his eyes glassy and full of tears; but he stood tall, refusing to cry. 

“What I do need is to get back to Mytholm, take my boat,  _ my home _ , and go.” he paused for a moment, his bottom lip trembling, “I really thought that we could make this work. I thought that I loved you. But I guess I was wrong.”

Before Matthias could defend himself or even try to explain that he’d never meant to pity Lukas and that he just wanted to help, that he loved him more than anyone he’d ever met and never wanted to lose him, Lukas snatched his hearing aids from his ears. They whistled a little with the sudden interference as Lukas fumbled to turn them off with trembling hands before he shoved them into the inside pocket in his suit jacket.

Then, Lukas reached forward to take his bag from Matthias, refusing to make eye contact with him while he grabbed the keys to the van from the bedside table and flung the door open. Scrambling to gather his things to follow him, Matthias flew around the room, grabbing his wallet and phone from the bed and shoving them into his pocket before picking up his bag and hurrying out of the room. 

Lukas was already on the last flight of the stairs as Matthias looked down at the top of his head over the bannister as he thundered down after him two stairs at a time, nearly tripping over the carpet as he reached the second landing. The wedding guests that had spilled out into the lobby stared at Lukas as he pushed his way through them, then stood back as Matthias called his name even though he knew it was no use. He paused for a moment, looking into the function room to try and catch either Tino or Berwald’s eye to hurriedly explain what had happened and why he was suddenly leaving, but Lukas was soon out the door and so Matthias gritted his teeth and carried on out of the guesthouse. He would just have to call his brother in the morning.

It had gone dark outside now as night had fallen, and the only source of light out in the middle of the countryside like this was the glow from the outdoor spotlights that lit up the front of the guesthouse. Lukas had slung his bag into the back of the van and had just got into the driver's seat when Matthias yanked the passenger door open and got in, shoving his bag into the footwell. Only the sound of his heavy breathing filled the closeness of the van until Lukas put the key into the ignition and started the engine. 

“Lukas, I know you’re upset, but we’ve been drinking, so we should at least try and get a couple hours sleep before we get you home-” Matthias reached over to grab hold of Lukas’s arm, trying to get him to look at him, but his plea went unheard and Lukas just shoved his hand away with a glare before putting the van into reverse and backing out of their parking space on the field. Fumbling to put his seatbelt on as Lukas tore down the country lane that led back out onto the main road in the pitch darkness with the headlights on full beam, Matthias wiped away more tears that he couldn’t stop from falling on the back of his hand as he let his head fall back against the headrest.

Once on the road that they’d come down only less than 12 hours ago, Lukas began to follow signs for the motorway leading North, but when he began to follow the slip road to merge onto it he broke his own silence.

“Directions.” he said, and Matthias just stared at him for a moment, looking between Lukas and the road beyond the windscreen before reaching down into his bag and pulling out his phone. He brought up Mytholm on the map, loaded up the directions, then held the screen out so that Lukas could see it. He took his eyes from the road for a moment, read it, and then without anything more than just a nod of his head Lukas brought his shoulders back and cast his full attention back out in front of him. He pulled into the 3rd lane, putting his foot down on the gas and Matthias watched as the speedometer on the dashboard climbed to 87 miles an hour where it seemed to stop, the engine roaring away unable to go any faster. 

After about an hour Matthias was unable to stand the silence any longer, and his eyes were sore and red by the time he reached over to turn the radio on. It was still on absolute 70’s, and Matthias scoffed and threw his gaze out of the passenger window as ‘ _ Tragedy _ ’ by the BeeGees came through the tinny speakers of the van. 

Lukas hadn’t so much as looked at him since they joined the motorway, and had kept his eyes on the road the entire time, leaving Matthias to wallow in his own self pity and guilt. They’d continued at 87mph and once they’d started picking up signs for Manchester Matthias felt his heart sink down to the lowest depths of his chest knowing that soon the rolling hills of the pennines would come into view, and that the Yorkshire border wasn’t far. 

The past 3 months were flashing through his mind like a movie, from the first time that he saw Lukas sat atop Skidbladnir and how he’d thought how much of a beautiful photo it would have made. All Matthias could do now is wish that he had taken the photo, because as soon as they got back to Mytholm Lukas would be gone as though the entire summer they’d spent together meant nothing at all.

“Lukas. I know you can’t hear me, but I’m sorry. I have to say it out loud so at least I can feel like I've told you how much you mean to me.” Matthias began, glancing at Lukas’s reflection in the car window as he sat slumped in his seat.

“Since the very first day I laid eyes on you I knew that you were a special person. You’re funny, and kind, and just gorgeous. So gorgeous. Seeing you everyday makes me happy inside, makes me feel like the sun is shining just that bit brighter, but now I’m never going to see that crooked smile again that I love so much and it’s all my fault. Please just know that I never wanted to hurt you. I was selfish, and I lied to you, and though it doesn’t make it okay, I did it because I realised that I just couldn’t stand the thought of losing you. But now you’re leaving anyway, and it was me that pushed you away in the end. I’m sorry. I love you, and I’ll continue to love you no matter where you are.”

Once he’d finished, Matthias closed his eyes and leant back in his seat. He let out a long, shuddered sigh, realising just how much he’d fucked up. But there was nothing he could do about it now, and Lukas had every right to be angry at him.

What mattered was that he had the memories of the past 3 months, and he knew that Lukas had loved him back, even if only for a moment.


	15. Chapter 15 - The End

Summer was well and truly over. 

A cold wind had set in and _The Sandpiper’s_ roof and deck were covered in fallen leaves. Matthias hadn’t bothered to sweep them up and hadn’t taken himself up on the roof since Lukas had left, unable to sit up there without being reminded of him. That and having to look at the new boat that had moored up a couple of days ago in Lukas’s mooring spot was too much for Matthias to take. The boat was stupidly called _Hakuna Matata_ , and it was an ugly shade of orange that Matthias found himself grimacing at every morning as he left for work. 

At first, only days after Lukas had left and the mooring was still empty, Matthias would wake in the middle of the night and pull the curtains back at the slightest sound, hoping that he would look out of the window to find the beautiful black and burgundy paintwork that made up _Skidbladnir_ looking back at him. But the plot remained empty all throughout August and September, and only last week when October came around did Matthias wake up to _Hakuna Matata’s_ arrival. 

The wintery air that crept aboard _The Sandpiper_ during the night sent goosebumps over Matthias’s bare skin as he fumbled to turn on the lamp. Then he braced himself before he threw the duvet off, rolled out of bed and padded over to his wardrobe. There was no point in turning the gas heater on at this time in the morning as he would only be up and awake aboard the boat for less than half an hour while he got dressed. By the time it would have only just started getting warm it would be time for him to leave for work.

After pulling out a clean uniform, Matthias was rummaging around in the top drawer of his dresser for a fresh pair of boxers and woolen socks when he froze as his hand brushed across something at the bottom of the drawer. Pulling out a couple pairs of socks and underwear to fish it out, Matthias’s heart lurched when he pulled his hand out clutching the drawing that Lukas had doodled on the back of the dry cleaning receipt.

He stood in the middle of his bedroom, staring at the scrap of paper as though he’d just suddenly struck gold, the sketch of himself blurred by the tears that dared to brim in his eyes even after so much time had passed since Lukas had left him standing on the towpath calling his name until his throat was hoarse. 

That day had been the last time he’d seen or heard from Lukas, the numerous text message he'd sent had come back undeliveravle, and Matthias could still see the way he’d looked at him with such fear and uncertainty as he untied _Skidbladnir_ from the mooring post whenever he thought about him. Every day he wondered where he was, if he was alright, if he ever thought about him.

Laying the drawing out on the dresser and smoothing out the wrinkles that had formed across the page from being stored away at the bottom of his underwear drawer, Matthias took one last look at it before getting dressed and headed for the door. He took his keys from the hook on the wall and stepped outside. His breath clouded around him as he pulled his navy wooly hat a little further over his ears then tapped goodbye to _The Sandpiper._

Recently, despite the hours of daylight getting shorter and shorter, Matthias found that his days were dragging, the weeks crawling by at a snail's pace, and on several occasions Matthias had considered just untying _The Sandpiper_ from her mooring just as Lukas had done and just taking off down the canal. But every time he stood on the deck, his hand hovering over the ignition, Matthias could never start the boat in case one day Lukas ever came back and he wasn’t here. 

The sun didn't rise now until at least 8am, and so when Matthias left for work in the mornings at 6am the towpath was in complete darkness. He used a torch to navigate his way to the high street that he kept clipped to his belt for the rest of the day, occasionally needing it to squint at some scruffy handwriting on the front of a letter or to find the lock on a garden gate until the sun provided enough natural light for him to not need it. 

The lights were on in the post office as Matthias let himself in through the back door and the smell of freshly brewed coffee hit him as he walked through to the staff room.

Alice was sitting at the table reading the newspaper and Dylan was hanging up his coat after just arriving himself.

"Morning mate. You doing anything for halloween this year? Mags was thinking about holding a party here at the post office." Dylan said, his voice chipper, and Matthias shrugged as he took his reusable coffee cup out of the cupboard.

"I dunno, probably not, so I don't see why I can't join you guys here." he replied, busying himself with the coffee machine, missing the glances that Alice and Dylan exchanged behind his back. 

"Alright cool I'll tell Mags that you're in, then." 

Alice's chair scraped loudly across the floor as she stood up from the table and followed Dylan into the sorting office, and Matthias fiddled with the lid on his coffee cup before heading out to his van. It was already full of the first round of today's post, the same as always, and Matthias unlocked it and got in, setting his coffee down in the cupholder. He rubbed his hands together in an attempt to warm them before gripping the steering wheel and reversing out of the post office and down the street.

Compared to the height of summer, Matthias hardly saw anyone out at this time in the morning. Save for the odd dedicated dog walker; the runners, the walkers, and cyclists all seemed to hibernate at this time of year and Matthias was often the only person walking the streets until at least 9am. 

By the time he'd finished his first round and returned to the post office for his next load of mail the tip of his nose was bright red. Then on the second time his hands were beginning to grow numb from the cold and he'd spent most of his lunch hour warming them on his next cup of coffee while he ate lunch, and then finally after the third and final time his bones were beginning to ache. When 4pm rolled around, Matthias was worn out, ready to just trudge back to his boat for a hot shower until it was time to do it all over again tomorrow.

He was just about to clock out when Dylan poked his head around from the sorting office, a couple of letters in his hand.

"Delivery for the boating community just in from the depot!" he announced with a smile, and Matthias took the post from him.

"Thanks, bud." he mumbled, taking his glove off to leaf through them. The first two were for Manon, the third was a mobile phone bill that Matthias had been expecting, but the fourth was heavy and in a thick envelope no doubt with bubblewrap on the inside.

Puzzled, Matthias put the other letters down and took a closer look at the larger one. Sure enough, it was his name on the front of the post packet in neat cursive handwriting, and it was addressed directly to the post office. Glancing at the post mark in the right hand corner, Matthias's eyes widened when he saw the stamp.

It was first class recorded delivery, all the way from Norway.

Picking the rest of the letters back up, Matthias called goodbye to Maggie but didn't even wait to hear her reply before he dashed out of the post office, down the steps and hurried home, his heart hammering in his chest while he hoped and prayed that the envelope that he held clutched to his chest was from who he hoped it would be.

The lights were on inside _Hakuna Matata_ as Matthias approached the moorings, and he could see the family that lived inside preparing dinner through the kitchen window. They waved to him as he passed, but he only nodded at them curtly before leaping across to the deck of his own boat. In his haste to get inside and tear open the letter, Matthias dropped the keys while he was unlocking the door, and he cursed to himself under his breath as he bent to pick them back up.

Once inside he discarded Manon's letter and his phone bill on the side in the galley for now and took a seat on the couch. Then, Matthias just stared at the letter, his eyes tracing over the smooth loops and swirls of the handwriting on the front before taking in a breath and ripping it open. Reaching inside the post packet, his fingers felt the glossy front page of a book. 

Closing his eyes while he pulled out the contents, Matthias tossed the empty envelope to the floor and just sat with the book in his hands. He held it for a moment, his finger running along the spine, then he opened his eyes and immediately the tears that had threatened to fall this morning came flooding back and Matthias wiped them away on the back of his sleeve.

' _Mads the Ljósálfar, by Lukas Thomassen.'_

The finished version of the cover was even more wonderful than Matthias had remembered the draft to be when Lukas showed it to him in his studio that day aboard Skidbladnir. The title was embossed in gold lettering, and the illustrations were whimsical, soft, and beautiful. Matthias read the title over and over, feeling so proud to see Lukas's name printed there and to be holding his book in the flesh.

He'd always wanted to read it, and at one point he was so sure that he would, so to be able to now sent a shiver across the back of his neck as he opened up the book, settling back into the couch. Flipping past the first page that just listed the publishing information Matthias almost missed it, but he just caught it as the page turned. A note from Lukas written across the glossy page.

' _Dear Matthias. The leaves will have changed by now, and I'm sure the canal looks just as beautiful on a frosty morning than it did during those long summer days. I'm sorry for how we parted ways, and I realise now that I was the one who hurt you - not the other way around. It wasn't fair for me to ignore my problems and let them to come between us, but you allowed me to forget even if it was only for three blissful months. I'm sorry, and I forgive you for everything. I hope that you'll forgive me too. Freyr misses you, and so do I. Perhaps when the leaves return to the trees again I can return to you if you'll have me. Until then, your Lukas x’_

A tear rolled down Matthias's nose and dripped onto the page, and he quickly dabbed it up with his sleeve not wanting to smudge the ink as he read over Lukas's note again and again until he could hear his voice speaking the words to him. Suddenly the weather outside didn't seem so grey, the cold wasn't so harsh, and Matthias had never looked forward to spring so much in his life.

After reading the note one last time, Matthias turned the page and settled down to read Lukas's book, bringing his knees up onto the couch and sinking into the cushions.

_"Once upon a time, there was a troll who lived alone in the forest. He could not hear, and he could not speak. The troll would wander the forest every day in his little troll world, wishing for a friend, for someone that understood him. He would wish every day as he tossed a white pebble from the bank into the creek that ran beside his little troll house. The pebbles would wash away down the creek and eventually the troll was down to the last pebble, the bank now bare apart from the wild flowers that grew. The troll closed his eyes and wished with all his might as he tossed the last pebble, and when he opened them there was a bright glimmer of light rising up from the river. It was so bright in fact that the troll had to shield his eyes with his hands._

_Then, when the light faded, the troll was met by the most enchanting eyes of blue. Dressed in white and shining like the rays of the sun on a summer day, the troll stared at the figure standing before him on the bank. The figure upturned his palms and suddenly, as if by magic, the troll could hear him, he could speak to him, as light shone from his palms in the form of pictures, of words as he moved his hands._

_"Hello," the figure said, the magical words and pictures swirling around the troll, "my name is Mads, and I'm your Ljósálfar. You needn't be afraid. You're not alone anymore..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (The sketch of Mads the Ljósálfar is by none other than the wonderful tolyys <3)
> 
> I genuinely don't know what to say now other than this is the first fic that I've ever brought to a close. Thank you to each and every one of you for reading and I really hope that you loved this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'm actually kinda emotional right now lol so I'll keep this short, but I love you all so so much and thank you to everyone in the nordictalia server especially for all your love and support.
> 
> Lots and lots of love, 
> 
> -lumassen xx


	16. Epilogue - Give me 6 months, and my heart will be yours.

The bare branches of the trees that lined the side of the canal reflected in the dark wintery waters, their image distorted and rippled by the raindrops that hadn’t stopped falling for what seemed like forever. The air was cold and still despite the rain, and only the throaty rumble of a narrowboat engine echoing off the walls of the bridge at Mytholm as it passed underneath could be heard across the river.

The hand currently on the tiller was frozen stiff in it’s grip after having not let go of it since the narrowboat left the heritage marina; but now that the Mytholm moorings were in sight did the icy fingers lift away from the tiller and tingled while they turned pink as warm breath clouded around them. 

The towpath was quiet and bare, all of the wildflowers that had once covered the bank in pastel colour and swayed in the summer breeze were long gone, and instead the canal edge was lined with unmown grass; the long blades tipped with the last of this morning's late January frost. Though despite the bleakness of winter, the canal was just as beautiful as it had been in the height of the summer. A robin darted between the hedgerows, its red breast visible against the stark grey sky as it darted across the canal and disappeared into the trees, and as the boat neared the moorings the first signs of spring could be seen in the form of crocus buds nestled within the grass along the towpath.

There was a soft feeling of tranquillity and belonging surrounding the three boats as they began to drift ever so slightly on the water beside their moorings, disturbed by the churning beneath the surface caused by the fourth boat as it moored up. Then, the engine shuddered to a stop and the canal fell into silence; though for the helmsman the world around him had been silent all along.

Lukas drew in a breath, the cold air sharp at the back of his throat, and hesitated for a moment before stepping across to the towpath and watched as his feet disappeared within the grass, the bottoms of his jeans instantly becoming dampened by the dew drops. His fingers were still numb as he fumbled with the towrope, winding it around the mooring post of the visitor spot beside _Willow_. The flowerpots on the roof that Lukas had last seen bursting with colour were empty now, the skeletal stems of the geraniums that had died back the only tell-tale sign that there had once been anything filling them at all. A warm, soft glow came from inside the boat, casting a dull pool of light over the towpath from beyond the pretty linen curtains, and Lukas could see the shadow of Manon moving around inside. 

As he tied the last knot in the towrope, a drop of rain dripped down the back of his neck as it rolled off the hood of his raincoat, then upon straightening up his eyes fell upon _The Sandpiper_. 

Unlike _Willow_ , the lights were out, yet even still Lukas's heart skipped a beat as he approached it gingerly, watching the boat as it rocked back and forth gently on the water. The paint across the top of the doors was still worn away, and Lukas felt a fond smile tugging at the corner of his lips at the sight of the roof that was covered in fallen leaves which had long since started to decay now. He knew Matthias would never have stuck to his promise to keep it clean. 

He reached out and plucked one of the leaves from the roof between nimble fingers, and almost immediately it fell apart in his hands, disintegrating into tiny soggy pieces in his palm. Then, as Lukas dropped the remains of the leaf to the floor, he pushed his coat sleeve up a little to glance at the time on his watch. 

3:27pm. 

Lukas knew well enough that Matthias usually finished his shift at 4pm, and although that was only half an hour away, Lukas was impatient, and found himself wishing that he'd taken his time up the river so that he didn't have to hang around while waiting for Matthias to return to his boat. He’d already waited 6 months, and the butterflies that were forming in the pit of his stomach were proof enough that he couldn’t wait any longer.

Running the tips of his fingers fondly across the side of _The Sandpiper_ , Lukas traced the red swirly lettering that made up the boat's name and just let his thoughts become completely filled with Matthias. He closed his eyes, picturing every inch of his face, from his freckles, to the square of his jaw, to the wonderful blue of his eyes, and the contagious smile that he never seemed to be without. Until the last time he saw him, that is.

The day Lukas had left Mytholm, when he'd left Matthias standing on the towpath calling his name over and over again until he was red in the face, that smile was nowhere to be seen, and instead as Lukas looked over his shoulder at Matthias, vision half blurred with tears that he refused to let fall, he saw nothing but guilt and sadness.

Dropping his hand back down by his side with a soft sigh, Lukas stared at his feet. Would Matthias even _want_ to see him after the way he’d left things? After all this time? 

Lukas turned away from _The Sandpiper_ and made his way back to _Skidbladnir_. Her paintwork was once again glossy and flawless, all traces of damage gone, and the deep colours seemed even more vibrant than usual against the bleakness of winter. Now that he was back aboard and once more cruising the English waterways, Lukas was astonished that he'd managed to stay away for 6 months. But it had all been worth it, for thanks to his parents and the success of his book, Lukas had worked out a plan with the bank to repay his debt and was finally free from their grasp. 

He’d stayed with his parents in Norway, putting as much money aside as he possibly could, and stored _Skidbladnir_ in a private marina in Stoke on Trent while he was away. He spent the months holed away in the rural town in Tromsø, head buried in his book and his art but his heart focused on the end goal; to no longer have to run from anyone or anything. Once the hard work had paid off and Lukas had finally allowed himself to ask for help from his parents, he hadn’t come back to England for his boat, not really. He’d come back for Matthias.

The welcome warmth from the log burner engulfed Lukas as he stepped down below deck, and in an instant Freyr was at his ankles, rubbing up to him and purring so intensely that Lukas could feel the happy vibrations against his shins.

His suitcase along with Freyrs now empty pet carrier was still on the sofa from where he’d left it as soon as he’d arrived at his boat straight from the airport, containing the few items of clothing, his laptop and a handful of his art supplies that he’d packed and took to Norway with him; just the bare essentials. Everything else that Lukas owned was here aboard _Skidbladnir_. He was finally home. 

Once Lukas had fed Freyr and sat for a little while gazing out onto the river with a mug of tea, he set to work wiping away the dust that had settled throughout his boat and threw open all of the windows to let her breathe once again. He found that every five minutes he was looking at his watch, his nerves building with every minute that passed until the digital display ticked over to 4pm. 

“What d’ya think, Freyr?” he mumbled, running his hand over the cat’s back as it arched into his touch and rubbed his head against his elbow.

“You’re happy to be back too, huh?” 

Lukas stroked Freyr for a little while until he couldn’t stand waiting any longer, and his heart was hammering in his chest as he shrugged his raincoat back on. He was just about to push the doors open and step outside onto the deck when he stopped and spun around on his heel to cross the saloon and pick up the small circular case containing his hearing aids. Gingerly, he took them from the case and peered at himself in the mirror that hung on the wall as he placed the moulds into his ears and fiddled with the receivers until they were comfortable. It felt strange to be wearing them again, and Lukas knew that he didn’t have to, but Matthias’s voice was the last voice that he’d heard 6 months ago, and he wanted nothing more than for it to be the first thing he heard once he switched his hearing aids on this time.

*

“Well, I'll be off then!" Matthias called as he slid his backpack over his shoulders and reached for the door handle.

"Have a lovely evening, my dear. See you tomorrow." Maggie said kindly as she looked up from her paperwork with a smile.

It was a couple minutes past 4pm, and Matthias stepped out into the rain, pulling his hood up and dashing across the road to avoid being splashed by the bus as it drove through a puddle that had been ever increasing in size with all the rainfall the past few days. Matthias didn't mind winter so much, but now that Christmas was over and all of the festive lights that had adorned almost every tree and lamppost in Mytholm had been taken down, he was more than ready for summer again and for it not to be dark at 4pm. The shortcut that Matthias took down the side of the Dusty Miller pub was lit only by a single security light, and so he picked his way carefully around the bins until he emerged onto the towpath. The beer garden out the back was empty, and would remain that way until May at the very least, but would soon become crowded once June and July came along and the visitor moorings would be occupied by a different narrowboat every couple of days. 

Over the holidays, Matthias had got to know his knew neighbours aboard _Hakuna Matata_ , and Steve, the father of the family of four that somehow managed to all squeeze onto the boat, had offered to take a look at _The Sandpipers_ engine after poking fun at Matthias for never cruising the cut as they did every weekend. At first, whenever Matthias would wake on a Saturday morning and peer out of the window at the empty mooring, he daydream back to the summer when Lukas had taken his boat out for the day. He would pretend that Lukas was still his neighbour, still the resident of mooring plot number three, but each time he'd hear the chug of a narrowboat engine as Hakuna Matata returned on a Sunday night Matthias got closer to accepting that Lukas was never coming back until he finally made the effort to be neighbourly and quite literally closed the book on Lukas, stowing away the his book that had had pride of place on his dresser into his underwear drawer with the sketch. 

It had been their youngest daughter's birthday recently, and Matthias had delivered a wad of birthday cards to _Hakuna Matata_ that had arrived for her in the post, then later on that evening enjoyed a piece of leftover birthday cake that the mother had brought round for him. They weren't bad people, in fact they were lovely and had even clapped for Matthias while he practiced his guitar on the roof when he hadn’t realised they’d been listening; they just unfortunately were the ones who replaced the person that Matthias had loved more than anything.

Shoving his hands into his pocket, Matthias quickened his pace a little. His uniform was soaking wet from the rain, as even his bright, waterproof postmans coat wasn't enough to shield him completely from the elements, but that was just what came with working outside. Soon January would be over and they'd be into February, and the weather would only get better at least. 

The lights were on inside both Hakuna Matata and Willow as the moorings came into view, but as Matthias peered ahead into the darkness he counted not two, but three boats softly illuminated along the canal bank. Taking even larger strides now, Matthias began to panic a little, racking his brains to try and remember if he'd left the lights on this morning before he left for work. If he had and they'd been on all day, then The Sandpipers battery would soon be flat, and without a properly running engine to charge it back up again Matthias wasn't sure what he was going to do.

In his haste, Matthias hadn't noticed the figure on the towpath until he realised that The Sandpiper was still in darkness, nestled between Hakuna Matata and Willow. Puzzled, Matthias slowed his pace almost to a halt as he let his eyes wander over the boat moored in the visitor spot and was debating knocking on the doors and warn the owner that if they stayed too long on the mooring out of season then they'd risk getting a fine, but then his legs suddenly felt like lead as he stopped in his tracks and his heart leapt into his mouth.

The gold swirly lettering against the glossy black paint was unmistakable even in the dim light.

_Skidbladnir._

Matthias's breathing quickly became shallow as he squinted at the figure as they moved away from the boat, then as they pushed back their hood and freed the pale blond curls that were hidden beneath his hands flew up to clamp over his mouth as he choked back a sob. 

"Lukas... I... Is it r-really you?" he managed to mumble through his hands, then scrubbed away the tears that rolled down his cheeks with his sleeve.

Matthias never thought he'd hear it again, Lukas's light laughter, yet there it was like music to his ears as a crooked smile broke across his face and his shoulders shook ever so slightly.

"Who else would it be?" Lukas said, and he'd barely finished his sentence before Matthias closed the gap between them, pulling Lukas into a tight hug that transported him right back to the height of summer. He was no longer soaked to the skin, it was no longer dark outside and instead the sun was beating down on his back and warming his soul as he closed his eyes and buried his face into Lukas's neck. 

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. I love you, Lukas. I love you more than anything." 

His words fell from his mouth almost incoherent, though he knew that Lukas didn't really need to hear them as he wouldn't be here if he did, returning his embrace, gently caressing the back of his head with his hand and running his fingers through his hair.

"You came back. You're here." Matthias continued, opening his eyes again and returning to the real world as he stepped back and cupped Lukas's face in his hands, staring deeply into his eyes as though he still couldn't believe that it was really him. But it was. It was his Lukas. 

"I'm here. I'm sorry that I left, but being away from you made me realise that I never want to be without you again, my Ljósálfar. I'm here to stay, if you'll have me." he stared back at Matthias, his expression unsure and eyes filled with uncertainty, but Matthias could only smile wider than he'd ever smiled before as he gently pressed his forehead against Lukas's, his fingers absentmindedly tracing the cross shaped pin nestled within his hair. 

But then his face fell as he realised that Lukas couldn't stay. Not in Mytholm at least.

"But your mooring, I- You can't stay on the visitor plot, you'll get in trouble-"

"Then come with me."

Lukas stepped back a few paces, glancing to _Skidbladnir_ then back at Matthias.

Had this been 6 months ago, Matthias would have refused to believe that he could be happy anywhere but Mytholm, but the day that Lukas left it was as though everything he thought he knew about happiness had left with him.

"Where to?" he asked, as though he cared about the answer, and watched as Lukas shrugged and a grin crept across his face.

"Anywhere." ****

To anyone else, 'anywhere' might've been too vague of an answer, but to Matthias anywhere was perfect as long as Lukas was there. ****

They were free at last. 

\----------------

_'No Worries' - Written and performed by Matthias Densen for Lukas Thomassen._

__

_We ran through strawberry fields and smelt the summer time,_

_When it gets dark I'll hold your body next to mine._

_Then we'll find some wood and hell we'll build a fire,_

_And then we'll find some rope and make a swingin' tyre._

__

_Captivated by the way you look tonight,_

_The light is dancing in your eyes,_

_Your sweet eyes._

__

_Times like these we'll never forget,_

_Staying out to watch the sunset,_

_I'm glad I shared this with you._

__

_'Cause you set me free,_

_Showed me how good my life could be,_

_How did this happen to me?_

__

_And then I'll swing you until you fall asleep,_

_But when you wake up you'll be lying next to me._

_We'll go to Hollywood make you a movie star,_

_I want the the world to know how beautiful you are._

__

_Captivated by the way you look tonight,_

_The light is dancing in your eyes,_

_Your sweet eyes._

__

_Times like these we'll never forget,_

_Staying out to watch the sunset,_

_I'm glad I shared this with you._

__

_You set me free,_

_Showed me how good my life could be,_

_How did you happen to me? ****_

_There are no secrets to be told,_

_Nothin' we don't already know._

_We got no fears of growing old,_

_We've got no worries in the world._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXjnCedycSY&ab_channel=McFly-Topic

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Give Me Three Months and I'll Cat-pture your Heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26580007) by [puffintalia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/puffintalia/pseuds/puffintalia)




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